- Wine production slides 26% to 9.64m hectolitres in 2022-23
- Sales of Australian wine flat, dipping by 0.1% to 10.7m hectolitres
The trade association for Australia’s wine industry has released sales and production data showing the continued challenge of balancing supply with demand.
In its ‘Wine Production, Sales and Inventory Report 2023’, published last week, Wine Australia noted that the 2022-23 wine harvest was the country’s lowest for 15 years. Sales volumes in the period were flat, however, on the corresponding 12 months a year earlier.
The most recent harvest produced 9.64m hectolitres, according to the report, representing the first time an annual harvest has come in below 10m hectolitres since 2006-07. Volume sales for Australian wine, meanwhile, totalled 10.7m hectolitres (-0.1%), meaning inventory levels nationally inched down by only 4% to an estimated 21.9m hectolitres as of the end of June.
“Rebalancing supply and demand remains a real challenge for the sector,” said Wine Australia’s market insights manager, Peter Bailey. “Our situation reflects the global environment, as world wine production has exceeded consumption every year for at least the past ten years.
“This prolonged oversupply, which is the equivalent each year of more than twice Australia’s production, has put increasing pressure on all wine-producing countries.”
The figures come in the same month that the International Organisation of Vine & Wine estimated global wine production this year will be at its lowest level since 1961.
Head here for further details on ‘The Australian Wine: Production Sales and Inventory Report’.
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