Australia's exports of bottled wine to China on the rise

The share of bottled exports increased by 5 percentage points to 76pc in the year ended September 2008, as the bulk wine share of the total export mix fell 4 percentage points to 23pc, according to Wine Australia.

Its e-news service reports that the shift in export mix can be viewed as a positive, even though total exports declined by 13pc for the year.

Wine Australia says global trading conditions are extremely difficult at the moment and factors such as the credit crisis in key markets, a strong Australian dollar, tax increases in the UK and increased costs of production and distribution are placing pressure on demand for Australian wine and export margins.

However, it says a recent unwinding in the strength of the Australian dollar, particularly against the US dollar and UK pound, offers some relief in this area.

While the share of bottled to bulk wines shifted, in the year ended September 2008, the volume of total Australian wine exported declined 13pc to 698 million litres and on the back of a 2pc decline in average price to A$3.69 per litre, value fell 15pc to A$2.6 billion.

Strong value growth in shipments to China and Hong Kong continued with value shipped to China increasing 21pc to A$64 million and value shipped to Hong Kong increasing 25% to A$35 million, both driven by an increase in the volume of bottled shipments.