Chile sees exports to China surge by 40%, as it muscles into gap left by Australia

Chile’s wine exports to China jumped during the first three months of the year as importers looked to the South American country for substitutes for Australian wine.  

According to Chilean customs data, it was not only wine that benefited; overall Chilean exports to China in the first quarter of 2021 surged by over 40% compared to the same period in 2020.  

“In the particular case of trade with China, the first half of 2021 again shows that the Asian giant is today the cornerstone of Chilean foreign trade, so many of our control and inspection efforts are focused on import and export processes with this country,” said national director of customs José Ignacio Palma speaking to The Rio Times.

 Chilean wine, which enjoys zero import tariffs compared to the standard 14%, saw its exports to China rocket by over 40% in the first quarter of the year. And top producer Concha y Toro concurred with this trend, reporting a massive 128% growth in its sales to China. The Chilean wine group saw its volumes increase by 40% in the first three months of the year, largely driven by exports to China, as well as a massive increase in shipments to South Korea of 266%.  

Chile and France have emerged as the two clear winners in acquiring Australia\s wine market share in China, after China imposed Draconian tariffs of up to 218% on imports.   Last year Chile shipped 197m Euros worth of wine to China, a drop of over a third (37%) compared with 2019, according to latest customs data.