Wine exports on the slide

Australian wine exports have fallen by 13.5pc in volume and by 15.1pc in value over the last 12 months, according to new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The ABS figures show that in the 12 months to the end of October, the Australian wine industry exported 697.2 million litres, with a total value of $2.5 billion.

However, there are encouraging signs, with exports during the month of October increasing by 0.1pc to 68.7 million litres, valued at $254.5 million.

But on the domestic front, the ABS reports that the trend estimate for domestic sales of Australian produced wine was 35.0 million litres in October 2008, a decrease of 0.2pc from September 2008.

The seasonally adjusted estimate was 35.3 million litres this month, up 2.6pc from September 2008 and a increase of 1.0pc on October last year.