US leapfrogs Australia to become the UK's biggest bulk wine supplier
The UK saw its imports of US bulk wine leap by 68% in the first six months of the year, overtaking Australia to become the first seller to the UK in value terms.
Over the same period the UK’s total bulk wine imports jumped by over 17% in volume, exceeding 254 million litres, and representing a big increase on the 216 million litres shipped into the country during the first half of 2017, according to Bulk Wine Club.
The average price paid by the UK rose by 6% going from 88 pence to 94 pence per litre, pushing the value of total bulk imports up by 25% to £240m, compared to £190m in the first half of 2017.
Bulk wine represents almost 40% of the overall volume of wine imported into the UK, whose total wine imports increased by 5.6% in volume and by 3.4% in value.
While the US has now secured its place as the top exporter of bulk wine to the UK in value terms, Australia still managed to see its shipments to the UK jump by over 32%, an increase of £67.4m.
However, when it comes to sheer volume, Australia is still the undisputed leader, shipping 93.8 million litres of bulk wine to the UK, a 22.5% increase, compared to the US’s 62.4 million litres, a 56% increase.
The outstanding performance of US bulk wine to the UK coincides with the shrinkage of its sales of bottled wine to the UK, indicating that an important proportion of US wines are bottled in destination.
As for other suppliers, New Zealand is still third in value terms, despite experiencing a 3.4% dip in sales, followed by Chile (+17.8%), and South Africa (+5.9%). However, South Africa and Chile are still ahead of New Zealand in volume terms, with the average price for South African wine at 58p per litre, Chilean at 81p per litre and New Zealand coming in at than double that at £1.90 per litre.