DOMESTIC sales of wine increased for the seventeenth consecutive month.
Around 32 million litres were sold to the domestic market in December according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
This is an increase of 0.5 per cent in trend terms on November 1999 and 11.5 per cent on December 1998.
Almost two-thirds of wine produced was destined for the export market.
However, export data shows 18 million litres of Australian wine worth $88 million was exported – down 6.6 per cent on November but still 19.5 per cent on the same period in 1998.
Of the $88 million worth of wine exported during December, UK demand was greatest, accounting for more than $28 million. The US spent in excess of $25 million during the same period.
Australasia (not including Australia) and Asia spent $11 million on Australian wine during the month.
In the 1998-99 year, more than $1 billion worth of wine was exported.
The average value of the wine exported fell by almost 9 per cent in the year to December to about $4.86 per litre.
