Australian bulk wine exports to Japan rocket four fold since signing of JAEPA

Australian bulk wine exports to Japan have rocketed almost four-fold to $9m after tariffs were removed under the Japan- Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA) in January 2015.  

This eliminated the import tax on bulk wine immediately while the 15% import tariff on bottled wine will be done away with over a seven year period.  

Premium wine exports have also been given a boost by the agreement, particularly amongst those wines priced at A$10 or more per litre, which have doubled in value since 2015 to reach $13m resulting in this segment increasing from 19% to nearly a third – 32%.   Overall, Australian wine exports to Japan jumped by 16% in the year to the end of March 2019 to reach a record $55m.

 At the same time, a new wave of Japanese consumers and sommeliers are changing the wine market, which Wine Australia thinks could be benefitting Australian wine. It points to Wine Intelligence research which reveals that there are 30 million regular wine drinkers in Japan and while almost half are aged 55 or over, there has also been a significant increase in the proportion of drinkers aged from 20 to 24.  

These younger consumers are more adventurous and increasingly searching for new styles of winemaking and new varieties away from the traditional Old World styles.  

Australia is currently the sixth largest exporter to Japan by volume and value, while Japan is Australia’s eighth biggest export destination in both volume and value. Chilean wine, which has been tariff free since 2007, is Japan’s top imported wine, while French and Italian wine consumption are both declining.  

However, according to Wine Intelligence, trade experts suggest that the relevance of these wines is starting to slow down as consumers are now gravitating away from lower-priced Chilean wine towards higher price points. Meanwhile, Inexpensive Chilean wines are struggling to break into the more premium category, a sector that regular wine drinkers are more open to buying into in Japan.