Export records broken as China market gets back on track
South Australian exports have reached record-breaking levels as wine exports bounce back after China lifted crippling tariffs.
The state’s exports to China saw a 54.7 per cent yearly increase, hitting a record $4.23 billion as overall exports rose to $17.56 billion, according to data from the state government.
This is another increase from January, when South Australian exports to China recorded a year-on-year increase of 46 per cent, equating to $3.2 billion. In the 12 months up to November 2023, the state’s total exports reached $17.9 billion, with the new data showing a slight decrease from the November data.
However, South Australian wine exports have seen a significant increase following the removal of tariffs by China, recording a rise of 20 per cent from the previous year, with $1.56 billion of wine exported in the 12 months to June.
China was the top market for South Australian wine at $343.8 million, followed by Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, at $251.2 million and $230.5 million, respectively.
South Australian wine exports to China reached $340 million in the three months since tariffs were removed.
The state’s wine exports made up two-thirds of the value of Australia’s total wine exports for the last year.
“South Australia’s wine exports continue to experience rapid growth, particularly to our largest two-way trading partner, China,” said Trade and Investment Minister Joe Szakacs.
South Australian exports overall saw a 0.8 per cent growth in the 12 months to June, up from a national decline of 9.3 per cent.
There was a 175.4 per cent increase in food, wine and agribusiness exports, which made up 44.5 per cent of all exports to China at $1.88 billion.
It comes after Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) released its financial year report, which revealed Penfolds saw a 15.5 per cent increase in earnings before tax following the tariff removal.
As TWE began the re-establishment of its Penfolds Australian COO portfolio in China, it announced price increases for its Bin and Icon portfolio wines, expecting demand to exceed availability “in the near term”. TWE said on a weighted average basis, the price of the Bin and Icon range had increased by around 6 per cent.
Stay informed, daily
The average cost of goods per case of Penfolds wine increased by 4.4 per cent over the 2024 financial year.
The company said this reflected “the sell-through of the higher cost 2020 and 2021 Australian vintages in F24 and one-off costs related to re-work of product labelling for the China market”.
In other South Australian exports, refined copper saw a 28.3 per cent increase to $935.2 million, wheat was up 66.9 per cent to $513 million, and almonds were up 10 per cent to $119.8 million.
Barley saw a 6.6 per cent increase, with 78 per cent of South Australia’s barley also exported to China.
