Australia’s wine industry is going through its most troubled times in a generation. The once booming business saw the value of wine exports slide by 10% in the year to June 2023, hitting the lowest level since 2014. Hit by China’s punitive tariffs, it has lost its biggest export market. Climate change is affecting traditional growing areas and yields, and consumer preference is moving towards better quality wines at the expense of commercial or commodity volume brands. Combined, these factors have triggered a bout of corporate soul-searching in which all the major players are re-examining their business models following a handbrake turn in their fortunes. Australia’s wine industry had grown substantially, reaching an annual production of approximately 1.3 billion litres in 2022, with more than 2,000 wineries employing 164,000 people and contributing AU$40 billion (£21 billion) annually to the economy, according to Wine Australia. However, the value of wine exports plummeted by 10% to AU$1.86 billion in the year to June 2023, the lowest level since 2014. Much of that was due to the overnight collapse of the China market, which accounted for AU$1.2 billion in industry value—more than double that of the UK or the US, the next largest export markets. Last year the value of the China market for Australian wine was a mere AU$8 million. Growing hopes that China’s tariff wall might be lowered have been hit by the Canberra government’s decision to treat wine as a separate issue in discussions with Beijing and continue with its
This Article was originally published on The Drink Business - Wine
