Chinese importers have begun to trade down to cheaper Australian wines for the first time in the past year, official figures show.
Exports of Australian bottled wines to China dropped by 8% to 33m litres in the year to the end of June, ending five years of strong growth, the Australian Grape and Wine Authority (AGWA) announced this week.
Its figures will surprise few in the wine trade, who have watched government austerity measures curb demand for imported wine in Mainland China in the past 18 months.
Within that trend, AGWA said exports of cheaper bottled wines, priced below the equivalent of A$2.5 per litre, jumped by 75% during the 12 months – albeit to just 1.5m litres.
Exports of bottled wines priced above A$2.50 declined by 10% to 32m litres.
Bill Hardy, of the private equity-owned Hardy’s wine producer, told DecanterChina.com that the group had ‘stepped back a little bit’ from China recently. But, it still has an office in Shanghai and believes the market will improve over the longer-term.
AGWA said it has seen bottled wine exports to China stabilise in the past three months.
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