Austrian wine exports reach record high

Exports for Austrian wine hit a new record of €137.5 million in 2013, a 4% rise on 2012’s figures with the UK one of the key markets.

The average value of Austrian wine by the litre has also risen to €3 a litre, so even though the volume in 2013 at 45.5m litres was not as high as 2012, nor even as high as the 2003 peak of around  80m litres, the value has risen by over 300% since 1985.

The rise in value was also achieved despite a much smaller 203 harvest – in line with the rest of Europe.

Willi Klinger, general manager of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board, said: “This is remarkable because the increase did not come from the traditionally strong markets of Germany, Switzerland and the US, but from the former ‘problem children’ like Scandinavia, the Benelux countries, the UK and Japan.

“Plus the Central European neighbourhood gave optimistic signals as well.”

Exports to China also increased by 50% for the second time with an average price of €7 a litre.

The AWMB attributed part of this export rise to competitive pressures at home with the number of wineries rising from 1,000 in 2009 to 1,600 in 2012.

Klinger explained that, as a “niche” product it was no longer possible for Austrian producers to concentrate on Germany and Switzerland, “we have to increase the number of countries in which this niche will be successful.”

Susanne Staggl, PR and marketing manager for the AWMB, told the drinks business that over the next five to six years the aim was to raise Austrian wine exports to the UK from its current level of 400,000 litres to one million litres.