Chile became the fourth largest exporter of wine worldwide in 2013 after their wine industry relegated Australia to fifth position (but still behind France, Italy and Spain) according to a ranking prepared by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) recently.
Chile also becomes the leader for the first time among the leading wine exporters classified as New World nations, such as Australia, Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand and the US.
France still leads in exports followed by Italy and Spain, but Australian shipments of wine fell by 12 per cent in 2013, totalling approximately $1,800 million. This poor performance was associated with lower demand for its products by the UK and the US. The government’s austerity measures in China made Australia record its first decline in shipments since the year 2000.
According to the report prepared by the OIV, shipments of Chilean wine was around $1,900 million, equivalent to a growth of 1.5 per cent over the previous year, in line with the major wine-exporting countries.