Australian wine sales to "non-traditional" markets surge in first quarter of year, as producers seek out alternative buyers to China
Sales of Australian wine to “non-traditional” markets have jumped during the first quarter of 2021, according to the country’s trade minister Dan Tehan, as producers have quickly sought out new markets for their products originally destined for the now closed Chinese market.
Shipments of Australian wine to these new territories rose during the first quarter of the year, with shipments to the Netherlands up by 63% to A$20m, between January and March, while exports to South Korea surged by over 133% to A$13.6m.
Meanwhile a Tasmanian winery Moorilla started shipping its wine to Taiwan for the first time in February, in an attempt to plug the gap left by the lack of trade with China.
“We have sent our first order, another one is in the order stage, and another party ius seeking samples,” Moorilla's chief winemaker Conor Van der Rees told the South China Morning Post.
And the establishment of the new Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement signed last week should open up more access to wine exports, claimed Tehan. However, the increase in Australian exports to these markets does not compensate for the loss of sales to China, which were worth an annual A$1bn a year, now down to a mere A$20m since China slapped crippling tariffs on Australian wine at the end of last year amid growing tensions between the two countries.
However, putting a positive spin on the situation, Tehan said: “Australia’s world-leading winemakers are adapting to challenging trading conditions and it’s a positive that our winemakers are diversifying their customer base.”
The Australian government lodged a formal complaint about China to the WTO last week, regarding the tariffs, but Tehan warned that the settlement process could take time – between two to four years, and he emphasised his desire to open up a dialogue directly with Beijing. “If we can’t we’re prepared to go through the process, even though it wll take the length of time to be able to resolve this,” he said.
Photography: Australian Parliament