Australia's surge in wine exports to China begins to slow

By Peter Hobson

CANBERRA (Reuters) -Australia's vino export roar to China that followed an betterment successful relations betwixt the 2 countries is showing signs of slowing, amid a broader planetary diminution successful the fig of bottles headed to the world's second-largest economy.

China is the Australian vino industry's astir lucrative overseas marketplace but its depletion of vino is falling sharply, amid a much gradual diminution worldwide.

Beijing's lifting of tariffs connected March 29 past twelvemonth triggered a surge successful exports. Australia shipped conscionable implicit A$1 cardinal ($640 million) of vino to China successful the 12 months to March 31 this year, information from manufacture assemblage Wine Australia show.

That magnitude is conscionable abbreviated of the grounds A$1.15 cardinal exported successful the twelvemonth to March 31, 2020 and follows a play of much than 3 years during which commercialized restrictions were successful spot and Australia shipped negligible amounts of vino to China.

However, exports person slowed aft the archetypal rush, totalling A$126 cardinal successful the archetypal 3 months of 2025, the slightest for immoderate January-to-March 4th since 2016.

The influx of bottles from Australia successful 2024 led to the archetypal yearly summation successful China's vino imports since 2018, Chinese customs figures accessed utilizing Trade Data Monitor show.

China's imports from different nations specified arsenic France, Chile and Italy person much than halved since 2018 and proceed to inclination lower.

"Australia has performed exceptionally good to get to a cardinal dollars," said Peter Bailey, marketplace insights manager astatine Wine Australia.

"There decidedly has been a slowdown...Continued maturation for Australia is not assured."

China's commercialized barriers – imposed during a governmental spat betwixt Beijing and Canberra successful November 2020 – worsened Australia's vino glut, starring to immense inventories, a plunge successful grape prices and a purge of vineyards.

Wine Australia said China volition not lick the oversupply occupation arsenic it is importing a smaller fig of pricier bottles than before.

Adding to those problems, Australia's vino exports to the remainder of the satellite fell successful the 12 months to March 31, it said.

Bailey said Australia could payment from Chinese tariffs connected the United States, which volition apt halt U.S. vino exports to China worthy astir $50 cardinal a year, and from Canada's displacement distant from U.S. wine, but it was excessively aboriginal to cognize for sure.

($1 = 1.5601 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Sam Holmes)