New Zealand wine exports surge 28% in January on booming bulk sales and Australian rebound

Wine exports jumped to $146.6 million in January 2023, propelled by a 74% leap in bulk shipments and resurgent demand from Australia, which nearly doubled its purchases year-on-year.

Strong start to the year

New Zealand exported $146.6 million of wine in January 2023, up 27.7% on the same month last year, according to official merchandise trade data. Shipment volume rose 26.8% to 19.7 million litres, with the average price reaching $7.46 per litre. Wine reached 55 destination markets during the month.

The January result brought the rolling 12-month total to $2,274.9 million, a 17.4% increase on the year-earlier period, underscoring sustained momentum in offshore demand for New Zealand wine.

Seasonal context and recent trend

January is typically a quieter month in the export calendar. The $146.6 million recorded in January 2023 compares with $114.8 million in January 2022, but sits well below the peaks of recent months—September through December 2022 all exceeded $250 million as the industry shipped the new vintage.

Australian demand rebounds sharply

Australia delivered the most striking performance among major markets, with purchases surging 93.6% to $28.1 million and claiming a 19.2% share of January exports. The United States remained the largest destination at $51.0 million, up a more modest 8.7% and accounting for 34.8% of total value.

The United Kingdom posted robust growth of 42.9% to $35.9 million, securing a 24.5% market share. Canada climbed 27.1% to $10.9 million, representing 7.4% of exports.

France emerged as another standout, more than doubling its purchases with a 114.5% gain to $4.6 million. The month's fastest-growing markets above $500,000 included Poland (up 224.3% to $0.8 million), Bulgaria (up 216.4% to $0.9 million), Denmark (up 113.4% to $0.7 million), and Latvia (up 105.8% to $1.1 million).

Offsetting the gains, Japan fell 56.9% to $1.1 million and South Korea dropped 63.0% to $0.6 million. Ireland declined 22.3% to $1.7 million and the Netherlands slipped 12.9% to $1.7 million.

Bulk exports drive the increase

The packaging breakdown reveals the composition of January's growth. Bulk wine shipped in containers exceeding 10 litres surged 73.9% in value to $41.1 million, accounting for 28.0% of total export value. Bottled wine in containers of two litres or less rose a more moderate 15.2% to $104.9 million.

The price differential between formats was pronounced: bottled wine averaged $9.33 per litre compared with $4.95 per litre for bulk. That $4.38 gap reflects the fundamentally different market positions—bulk wine is typically shipped for bottling offshore, often for own-brand and private-label programmes, while bottled exports carry New Zealand branding and command higher returns.

The sharp rise in bulk shipments suggests strong demand from offshore bottling operations, particularly as Australian purchases—often bulk-weighted—nearly doubled during the month.

Data note

Figures are derived from Statistics New Zealand's monthly merchandise trade data for HS code 2204 (wine of fresh grapes) on a free-on-board basis. As with all trade statistics, the most recent month's data are provisional and subject to revision as late declarations are processed.