China’s Wine Imports Fell 10.6% in the First Quarter

China cut its wine imports in both value and volume in the first quarter of 2026, extending a broader slowdown in one of the world’s most closely watched wine markets. Chinese customs data analyzed by the Spanish Wine Interprofessional Organization, known as OIVE, show that imports from January through March fell to €285 million, down 10.6% from a year earlier, while volumes dropped 10.9% to 49.4 million liters.

The decline was driven by weaker purchases of both packaged and bulk wine, though the two segments moved in different ways on price. The average import price across all wine rose slightly by 0.4% to €5.77 per liter, reflecting firmer pricing in bottled categories even as bulk wine values fell sharply.

Packaged wines, which include sparkling wine, still wine in bottle and bag-in-box formats, remained the core of China’s imported wine business. Imports in that group reached €272.4 million in the quarter, down 6.6%, while volume fell 9% to 29.6 million liters. The average price for packaged wine rose 2.6% to €9.20 per liter.

Bulk wine posted a much steeper setback. China imported €12.7 million worth of bulk wine in the quarter, a drop of 53.5%, while volume declined 13.7% to 19.8 million liters. The average price fell 46.1% to €0.64 per liter, pointing to heavy pressure at the lower end of the market.

The figures suggest that China’s import market continues to contract overall, but with more resilience in higher-value packaged wines than in bulk shipments. Sparkling wine was one of the few categories to show volume growth. Imports of sparkling wine slipped 1.3% in value to €12.78 million, but volume rose 3.9% to 1.47 million liters. Its average price fell 5.1% to €8.68 per liter.

Still bottled wine in containers under two liters, the largest segment by far, totaled €257.09 million, down 7.1%, with volume off 8.5% at 27.85 million liters. The average price edged up 1.5% to €9.23 per liter.

Bag-in-box wine showed unusual volatility. Import value rose 47% to €2.50 million even as volume dropped 58% to about 270,000 liters. That pushed the average price up 250.1% to €9.20 per liter, a sharp swing that may reflect changes in product mix rather than broad demand.

Australia remained China’s leading foreign wine supplier by a wide margin in the quarter, despite a decline in value. Australian shipments were worth €128.5 million from January through March, down 10.5% from a year earlier. In volume terms, however, Australia expanded strongly, rising 25.9% to 23.1 million liters.

France ranked second by value and was one of the few major suppliers to post growth. French exports to China reached €79.3 million, up 8.9%, while volume slipped 5.2% to 6.8 million liters. The contrast between rising value and lower volume indicates stronger average pricing for French wines.

Chile held third place by value with €20.4 million, down 38.7%, and second place by volume with 8.4 million liters, down 54.8%. Italy followed with €18.1 million in value, down 27.5%, and 3 million liters in volume, down 9.2%.

New Zealand ranked fifth by value at €9.6 million, up 24.3%, making it one of the strongest performers among established exporters in the quarter.

Spain placed sixth among packaged wine suppliers by both value and volume. Spanish packaged wine exports to China totaled €7.2 million, down 25.8%, with shipments falling 21.1% to 1.8 million liters. In bulk wine, Spain shipped about €110,000 worth and roughly 90,000 liters, placing fifth in both measures.

Among all suppliers by value, the leading countries in China’s import market during the quarter were Australia, France, Chile, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, the United States, Germany and Georgia.

The U.S., according to the same dataset, also recorded a steep decline, with import value down 46.8% and volume down 45.3%. By contrast, smaller suppliers including Germany, Georgia and South Africa posted gains in volume from lower bases.

The first-quarter results also fit a longer trend of shrinking Chinese wine imports over the past five years. In packaged wine alone, imports stood at €336.1 million and 75.6 million liters in the first quarter of 2021. By the same period of 2026, those figures had fallen to €272.4 million and 29.6 million liters.

Bulk wine has also lost ground over that period. Imports fell from €23.2 million and 31.7 million liters in the first quarter of 2021 to €12.7 million and 19.8 million liters this year.

For exporters watching China as a destination market, the latest numbers point to a market that is buying less imported wine overall and moving away from low-priced bulk shipments faster than from bottled products. Australia continues to dominate on scale, France is holding up better on value, and Spain remains under pressure as Chinese demand weakens across much of the category.