China’s wine imports fell more than 10% as bulk shipments collapsed

China cut its wine imports in the first quarter of 2026, with declines in both value and volume, according to Chinese customs data analyzed by the Spanish Wine Market Observatory, known as OIVE. From January through March, total wine imports fell 10.6% in value to €285 million and 10.9% in volume to 49.4 million liters. The average price edged up 0.4% to €5.77 a liter.

The drop was not uniform across categories. Packaged wines, including sparkling wine, bottled still wine and bag-in-box, remained the core of the market. Imports in that group fell 6.6% in value to €272.4 million and 9% in volume to 29.6 million liters. The average price rose 2.6% to €9.20 a liter.

Bulk wine posted a much sharper decline. China imported €12.7 million worth of bulk wine in the quarter, down 53.5%, while volume fell 13.7% to 19.8 million liters. The average price dropped 46.1% to €0.64 a liter.

Within packaged wines, sparkling wine was the only significant category to gain volume at the start of the year. Imports reached 1.47 million liters, up 3.9%, while value slipped 1.3% to €12.78 million, indicating lower prices. Bottled wine in containers under two liters, still the largest segment, totaled €257.1 million, down 7.1%, with volume down 8.5% to 27.85 million liters and an average price of €9.23 a liter.

Bag-in-box showed an unusual shift. Its value rose 47% to €2.5 million even as volume fell 58% to 270,000 liters, pushing the average price up to €9.20 a liter.

The figures point to a Chinese market that is buying fewer liters overall, especially in bulk wine, while maintaining more value in packaged products. The contrast with earlier years is sharp. In the first quarter of 2021, packaged wine imports had reached €336.1 million and 75.6 million liters. In the same period of 2026, volume was down to 29.6 million liters.

Australia remained China’s leading wine supplier by both value and volume. Its sales reached €128.5 million from January through March, down 10.5% from a year earlier, while volume rose 25.9% to 23.1 million liters. France ranked second by value with €79.3 million, up 8.9%, even as its shipments fell 5.2% in volume to 6.8 million liters.

Chile was second by volume with 8.4 million liters, down 54.8%, and third by value with €20.4 million, down 38.7%. France was third by volume behind Australia and Chile.

Italy imported into China totaled €18.1 million, down 27.5%. New Zealand stood out among the main suppliers with €9.6 million in sales, up 24.3%. The leading suppliers by value were Australia, France, Chile, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, the United States, Germany and Georgia.

Spain ranked sixth among packaged wine suppliers by both value and volume. Its exports in that segment fell 25.8% in value to €7.2 million and 21.1% in volume to 1.8 million liters. In bulk wine, Spain placed fifth with €0.11 million in sales and 0.09 million liters shipped.

Using broader country totals cited in the same data set, Spain recorded €7.3 million in wine exports to China in the quarter, down 24.9%, with volume at 1.9 million liters, down 18.8%. The United States also posted a steep decline, with value down 46.8% and volume down 45.3%.

The first-quarter data suggest that China’s wine market continues to contract but is shifting toward fewer imports with higher unit values in packaged formats, while bulk wine loses ground much faster than bottled products.