Australia’s wine sector is booming as millions of litres of alcohol flow to China.
After four years of high tariffs, Beijing lifted trade sanctions against Australian wine at the end of March as a sign of easing tensions between the two countries.
As a result, 9.8 million liters of bottled wine worth $142.2 million were exported to China in May.
This was the fourth highest monthly value for bottled wine exports to China since 2019 and is nearly $50 million above the average monthly export value before the pandemic.
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt is celebrating the recovery, saying it will bring joy to both growers and consumers.
“We know the last few years have been incredibly tough for the Australian wine sector, so these figures are just fantastic news for the entire industry,” he said on Monday.
“This shows how important the work of the Albanian government is to stabilize our relations with China.
“This work is now delivering real benefits to Australian farmers and the wider (agricultural) industry.”
At the height of diplomatic tensions in 2020, tariffs were imposed on a range of Australian products, making it unprofitable for manufacturers to export goods to China.
Sanctions against barley were lifted in August, but sanctions against two slaughterhouses and lobster remain in place.
Australian wine exports to China totaled $1.1 billion in 2019.
In the two months since trade resumed, the value of wine exports to China has reached $228 million.