(TDB) - Australian wine exports grew 5% by value over the last year, with the average value per litre growing to its highest levels in ten years, the country’s national wine body has said.

The value of exports now stands at $2.78 billion in the 12 months to March 2019, Wine Australia confirmed, with the average value per litre up 9% to $3.41.

Volumes declined by around 3% to 814 million Litres (90 million 9-litre case equivalents), which Wine Australia chief executive officer Andreas Clark described as a positive trend, as it reflected a drop in exports of the lower value end of the market.

“What we are seeing is a drop in volumes in the lower value categories and this places Australia well as the global consumer premiumises and drinks less but more expensive wines’, Clark said.

Value sales in China (including Hong Kong and Macau) now stand at $1.11 billion, up 7% in the last year and Australia now has a 29% share of the imported wine market, up from 26% last year, according to figures from the Global Trade Atlas figures quoted by Wine Australia.