Federal agriculture minister Murray Watt said the total value of bottled wine sent to China during May was $142.2 million – the fourth highest monthly export figure since the peak of trade in 2019.

China dropped punitive tariffs on Australian wine exports earlier this year after tensions between the two nations cooled.

In total, more than 9.8 million litres of bottled wine were exported into China from Australia during May.

The majority was from South Australia, which sent nearly 7.4 million litres worth $125 million – or approximately 75 per cent of the total.

Watt said May was “incredibly successful for Australian wine exporters”.

“We know the past few years have been incredibly tough for Australia’s wine sector,” he said.

“So to see these figures come through is just fantastic news for the whole industry.

“This demonstrates the importance of the Albanese Government’s work to stabilise our relationship with China. That work is now delivering real dividends to Australian farmers and the whole ag industry.”

Watt said the figures were almost $50 million higher than the average monthly export value in 2019, prior to COVID and the introduction of punitive tariffs.

Since the tariffs were dropped in March, $228 million of wine has been exported to China, the minister said.

“This huge increase in value and volume is fantastic news for our many gifted winemakers,” Watt said.

“The successful return of our wine to this huge and influential part of the world will help mitigate some of those challenges and provide joy for the many consumers who enjoy our excellent wine.”

Wine Australia market insights manager Peter Bailey was not surprised by South Australia’s dominance.

“Prior to the imposition of the duties on Australian wine, South Australia was the major supplier of exports to mainland China so we would expect this to be similar now,” he told InDaily.

“The resumption of exports to mainland China is certainly a positive for the Australian wine sector.

“However, the size of the opportunity for Australian wine is smaller today as the wine market in mainland China is a third of the size that it was five years ago.”

The news follows the release of Wine Australia’s latest winegrape crush report, which found that South Australia’s share of the national pool shrunk over the past year and the Riverland recorded its lowest crush since 2014.

South Australia still maintains the largest share of the national winegrape crush, with 49 per cent of the total 1.43 million tonnes of grapes crushed last financial year.

The total winegrape crush was 9 per cent more – or 112,390 tonnes more – than the crush in 2023, driven entirely by white varieties.

Though stronger than last year’s 23-year-low result of 1.31 million tonnes – the lowest since 2000 – Wine Australia said the industry’s latest result was 18 per cent below the 10-year average, and the third vintage in the past five years that has been below the long-term average.

It also follows SA wine mogul Warren Randall’s acquisition of a vineyard in the Barossa Valley, which is set to bolster Seppeltsfield’s re-entry plans into the Chinese luxury market.

Speaking to InDaily, Randall said that when the tariffs fell away in March, the gates didn’t just creak open, “they’ve flung open with desire for Australian wine”.

“The gates have almost flown off their hinges in terms of demand and desire,” Randall said.

“There’s still strong demand in China for luxury wines, and China doesn’t have the capability either viticulturally or from a vinification point of view to make icon or grade A wines, so they have to import them.

“That’s our modus operandi – Seppeltsfield sells luxury bulk wine to the world. We’ve seen immediate demand and strong demand.”