The UK continues to spearhead new records for Australian wine exports, this time taking 51% of the country’s overall 57 million litres of growth for the year ending October 31, 2001. In terms of export value, the UK’s growth of a $A107 million share of the global $A258 million growth was especially significant at a time when it is becoming a popular trend within UK wine columns to bucket the quality of Australian wine. Australia’s second largest growth market remains the US, with a 30% contribution to growth by volume and 27% by value. Sales to the US are worth $5.96 per litre on average, while sales to the UK are worth $4.12. Australia sells roughly twice the proportion of wine above $A5 to the US as it does to the UK. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures reveal an overall decline in Australian wine exports of 9.0 percent in October from September this year, when a record volume of wine was exported. However October’s exports, of 41.31 million litres valued at A$202 million constitute the second highest amount exported on record, up by 26.5 percent on the same time one year ago.
