AUSTRALIAN WINE SALES DOWN ON THE HOME FRONT

Australian sales dropped 8% to 34.8 million liters in March according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. White wine decreased 6.9% and red wine sales were down 12% from February. Domestic sales fell 0.1% in March while red and rose table wine dropped 0.7% for the 12th consecutive month. White wine trends grew 0.4% in March.

Australia’s export business, however, is booming. In March, 60.5 million liters were shipped - up 16.1% from February – and 7.5% higher than March 2005.