Australian wine exports shrank in 2025 as drinkers sober up

CANBERRA, Jan 28 (Reuters) – The value of Australia’s wine exports fell by 8% to A$2.34 billion ($1.6 billion) in 2025 as a global decline in drinking led to lower shipments to key markets including China and Britain, an industry body said on Wednesday.

Australia is the world’s fifth-largest wine exporter. Like other wine producing regions, it is dealing with oversupply and declining sales.

“Consumers are reducing overall alcohol consumption in line with wellness trends and in order to save money as the cost-of-living increases,” said Peter Bailey, head of market insights at Wine Australia.

“For wine exporters around the world, trade barriers and regional conflicts are also making it more difficult and costly to get product into markets,” he said.

The value of Australian exports to China, its most lucrative market, fell the most sharply, dropping 17% last year to A$755 million ($530 million).

Australian winemakers logged strong sales to China in 2024 when Beijing removed tariffs that had blocked trade, but a rapid shrinking of Chinese wine demand is now taking its toll.

“The Chinese wine market is one-third of the size it was five years ago,” Bailey said.

($1 = 1.4294 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)