(Yicai) Jan. 30 -- The increase of the Australian wine export value by more than one-third was a result of high levels of shipments to the Chinese mainland between April and December 2024, while other markets declined, an industry report said yesterday.

In the nine months, 83 million liters of wine, worth AUD902 million (USD561.7 million), have been exported to the Chinese mainland, after import tariffs on Australian bottled wine were removed at the end of March 2024, according to a release of Wine Australia, a government statutory corporation that promotes and regulates the Australian wine industry.

In the 12 months ended December 2024, Australian wine exports increased by 34 percent in value to AUD2.55 billion, the highest value since June 2021, Wine Australia said.

However, global alcohol consumption is facing numerous headwinds. In many established wine markets, consumption is declining due to health and wellness concerns and the rising cost of living, which has contributed to a global oversupply of wine and increased competition in already strained supply chains, it said.

Regarding wine style and varieties, the increase in exports to the Chinese mainland has impacted red wine's share of exports as 93 percent of exports to China are red in color, the release said.

As a result of the growth in exports to the Chinese mainland, the Northeast Asian region grew by 181 percent in value to AUD1.18 billion, which was a 46 percent value share, it said, adding Australian wine exporters shipped wine to 119 destinations in the year ended December 2024, up from 112 in the previous year.

Europe and North America declined by 4 percent and 5 percent respectively during this period, with each region representing around 20 percent of export value, statistics show.

The top destinations of Australian wine export by value were the Chinese mainland, Britain, the United States, China's Hong Kong, and Canada, while the top five destinations by volume were Britain, the United States, the Chinese mainland, Canada and New Zealand, it said.

Editor: Dou Shicong