Melbourne, Oct. 8 - Australia's wine exports rose 9% by value for the year to September, a new record, as the price of bottled wine recovered.
The rate of decline in the average price per liter has slowed as the growth in bulk wine shipments abates, according to the government's chief wine body, the Australian Wine and Brandy Corp.
The value of Australian wine exports rose 9% to A$3.02 billion and volume also grew 9%, to 804 million liters compared with a year ago.
The average price declined just 0.4% to A$3.75 a liter.
"The growth in low value bulk wine shipments is slowing and has been largely replaced by reemerging growth in bottle shipments," AWBC analysts said in a report. "In addition, prices for bottled wine have increased."
An oversupply of Australian wine, following successive record harvests, has depressed prices over the last few years. A 30% drop in the 2007 vintage and forecasts of another fall this year -- due to drought -- has helped clear the glut and ease the downward pressure on prices.
The U.K. market continues to be bolstered by bulk shipments and remains the number one ranked export market by volume and value, the AWBC report said.
In contrast to the U.K., the U.S. market experienced growth in average price due to solid growth in bottled shipments and declining bulk shipments.
Chinese drinkers continued to discover a taste for Australian wine with the average price per liter up 89 cents to A$2.25 a liter on year.