New Zealand wine exports surge 34% to $280m in September on bulk shipments and Canadian breakthrough

September wine exports jumped more than a third year-on-year to $280.3 million as bulk shipments nearly doubled and Canada emerged as a major growth market.

Strong September lifts rolling annual total above $2bn

New Zealand exported $280.3 million of wine in September 2022, up 34.4% on the same month last year, according to Statistics New Zealand customs data. Volume rose 31.4% to 37.4 million litres, with the average price edging up to $7.50 per litre.

The result pushed the rolling 12-month total to $2,019.7 million, a 43.5% increase on the year-earlier period and the strongest annual performance on record.

Bulk surge drives acceleration

The September growth was driven by a near-doubling of bulk wine shipments. Exports in containers larger than 10 litres reached $79.9 million, up 97.3% year-on-year, accounting for 28.5% of total export value. Bottled wine—defined as containers of two litres or less, including sparkling—rose a more modest 18.1% to $197.9 million.

The packaging mix reflected sharply different price points: bottled wine averaged $9.73 per litre compared with $4.82 per litre for bulk, a gap that underscores the contrasting economics of premium consumer-ready bottles and lower-value shipments destined for offshore packaging or blending.

Traditional markets grow as Canada and Germany surge

The United States remained New Zealand's largest market by a considerable margin, taking $96.7 million of wine—34.5% of total exports—with shipments up 31.7% year-on-year. The United Kingdom ranked second at $61.9 million (up 28.5%), followed by Australia at $54.8 million (up 28.8%). Together, the three markets accounted for more than three-quarters of all exports.

Canada stood out with a 98.8% surge to $21.4 million, cementing fourth place and representing 7.6% of exports. Germany recorded even faster growth, up 141.4% to $11.4 million, while France more than doubled to $5.9 million.

Smaller markets posted extraordinary growth rates. Malaysia increased 646.9% to $0.6 million, the United Arab Emirates jumped 263.7% to $1.4 million, and Denmark rose 184.8% to $2.4 million.

China continues decline

Not all markets expanded. China, once a significant destination, fell 38.6% to just $3.1 million, representing 1.1% of exports. The Netherlands also declined, down 13.3% to $2.1 million. New Zealand wine reached 60 destination markets during the month.

Japan ($2.0 million, up 12.2%), Singapore ($2.8 million, up 49.3%), and Ireland ($3.9 million, up 58.9%) rounded out the top-12 markets.

Revision notice

Statistics New Zealand figures for the most recent month are initially provisional and subject to revision as late declarations are processed and corrections applied. Historical comparisons are based on data as currently published.