Australia’s Wine Exports to Canada Rose 20%, Defying a Global Slump

Australia’s wine exports to Canada rose sharply in the year ended June 2026, making Canada one of the few bright spots for an industry that is still dealing with weak global demand and heavy stock levels.

Wine Australia said exports to Canada increased 20% in value to A$188 million over the 12-month period, while shipment volume rose 13% to 69 million liters. The gap between value growth and volume growth points to an improvement in pricing or product mix. Based on those figures, the average export value rose to about A$2.72 a liter, up roughly 6% from a year earlier.

The Canadian market stood out as overall Australian wine exports moved lower. Wine Australia said total exports fell 7% in value to A$2.30 billion and 6% in volume to 598 million liters in the year ended June 2026. It was the first time export volume dropped below 600 million liters since 2004. The industry body linked the decline to weaker demand in major markets and to a broader global fall in wine consumption, which it said has reached its lowest level since 1961.

Peter Bailey, Wine Australia’s manager of market insights, said Canada’s gains came even though wine consumption there has also been under pressure. He said the increase was supported by market-share gains after U.S. wines became less available during the Canada-U.S. trade dispute. He also said the momentum eased toward the end of the period, suggesting the share gains may be starting to level off.

That makes Canada an exception rather than a sign of a broad recovery. Australia’s three biggest export markets all weakened over the same period. Exports to mainland China, still the largest market by value, fell 15% to A$756 million. Exports to the United Kingdom fell 3% to A$340 million. Exports to the United States dropped 27% to A$229 million. By volume, the United Kingdom remained the largest market at 192 million liters, down 6%, and the United States was second at 95 million liters, down 15%.

Canada ranked fourth among Australia’s export markets both by value and by volume. Its 69 million liters were about 8 million liters more than a year earlier. That growth is significant for Australian producers because it came during a period when many markets were reducing orders, retailers were managing inventories more tightly, and consumers were cutting back on alcohol or switching to other drinks.

Industry executives say some Australian brands have seen especially strong results in Canada. At the Bush Summit on Wednesday, Taylors Wines said sales of its cabernet sauvignon and shiraz in Canada were up about 40%. The company’s comments suggest some producers have benefited directly from the reduced presence of U.S. wine on Canadian shelves. Taylors did not provide a detailed reporting period or methodology for that figure.

The same company also warned that the broader supply problem in Australia remains unresolved. Its president said the sector’s inventories are equal to between three and four times the annual sales needed. That estimate, if accurate, points to a deep stock overhang even after stronger sales in selected export markets. Taylors did not set out a detailed method for that inventory estimate, but the comment matches long-running concerns in the industry about excess red wine supply and slow demand growth.

Wine Australia’s report shows that the weakness is not limited to one country. Bailey said changing consumer behavior is reshaping wine demand around the world. He pointed to moderation in alcohol intake, cost-of-living pressure, and a shift toward alternative beverages. The agency said those trends have made trading conditions more difficult across many of Australia’s main markets.

Even so, not all international markets were soft. Wine Australia said several Asian destinations outside mainland China posted strong gains in value, including Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Singapore became Australia’s largest Asian market outside mainland China, while Thailand reached a record export value, driven by demand for higher-priced Australian wines.

For Australian producers, Canada’s performance offers evidence that sales can still grow when market conditions create room for substitution and when brands are positioned well enough to capture it. But the same data also shows the limits of that improvement. A$188 million in Canadian export sales is the market’s highest level in seven years, yet it remains smaller than mainland China, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and it is not large enough on its own to offset broad declines elsewhere or to absorb the scale of wine stocks that parts of the industry say are still sitting in storage.