The "Australian Table Grape Report" recently released by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows that the Australian table grape industry has made great progress in the past 10 years, with production increased by more than 1/3 and exports increased by 50%. The Australian grape production season is from October to September of the following year, and China has become its largest export market since the 2015/16 season. Despite two consecutive years of declines in production and exports due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, investment in vineyards before and during the pandemic has propelled the sector further. The export volume of Australian grapes has been comparable to that of Egypt and the European Union. At the same time, it can compete strongly with other southern hemisphere suppliers in the Asian market. Australia has become an important player in global table grape exports.

Like other major table grape producing countries in the southern hemisphere, exports are the main driver of growth in Australian grape production. Since the 2012/13 production season, the average domestic consumption of Australian grapes has fallen below 70,000 tons, and its share in production has dropped from 45% to 36% of the estimated 2022/23 production season. In the past five years, the average export volume of Australian grapes has been close to 130,000 tons, which is close to the level of Egypt and the European Union. This growth is largely attributable to the Chinese market. Australian grape exports to China reached 30,000 tons in the 2015/16 season, setting a new export record for a single country, and China has also become its largest export market. China's tariffs on Australian table grapes fell to zero in 2019 as part of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, while Australia's exports to China peaked at 63,000 tonnes. In the same year, Australia's total exports reached a record 153,000 tonnes, more than doubling in less than 10 years.

But after a peak in the 2019/20 season, Australian grape exports fell by almost 30%. At the same time, due to the impact of weather and the new crown epidemic, production has declined. More rainfall than the average level of the year has affected the quality of crops, and the superimposed epidemic has caused labor shortages and other factors, and harvesting efficiency has also been affected. In addition, cargo shipments have been affected by rising freight rates and a shortage of containers. Despite these challenges, Australian grape exports have remained above 100,000 tonnes, with growth in all major export markets. Since the 2019/20 season, Australian grape exports to China have dropped by nearly 60%, but China is still its largest market in the 2021/22 season, with exports reaching 27,000 tons. This is followed by Indonesia, which has grown by 26% since 2017/18 to 20,000 tonnes, and Vietnam which has nearly tripled since 2017/18 to 14,000 tonnes. China is a major exporter of table grapes, especially to the markets of Vietnam and Thailand, but Australia is having the opposite season, competing with Chile and Peru in the southern hemisphere. Thanks to its geographical proximity to Asia, Australian grape exports require shorter transportation time and less risk of grape quality degradation. Therefore, despite significantly lower yields, Australia's exports to Asian markets often exceed those of Chile and Peru.

The conversion of wine grape plantations to table grape plantations in Australia has been expanding in order to support strong export demand. At present, the varieties with the highest production in Australia are mainly green Menindee and Thompson and red Crimson, but most of the new planting areas are new seedless proprietary varieties. For the 2021/22 season, the Asian market will account for almost 95% of Australia's total exports, with consumer preferences greatly influencing growers' variety choices. The seeded Red Globe has been the main grape variety exported to China, but consumers across Asia are increasingly turning to the seedless variety. These seedless varieties offer more flavor options, such as the black seedless variety which is gaining a lot of attention worldwide.