China’s thirst for Australian wines golden: for now
SYDNEY |
SYDNEY (Reuters) – China’s growing thirst for Australian wines may be a golden ticket for now, but whether demand will last remains unknown even as vintages from Down Under gain new fans amid a surge of growth in broader Asia.
Australian bottled wine exports to China soared by 15 percent year on year in 2012, according to official data, bolstered by a sales push targeting the country’s wealthy drinkers and making Australia the top overseas market for wines priced at more than A$7.50 ($7.90) a liter.
Overall, exports gained 3 percent globally, with declines in bottled wine exports to some countries offset by increases in bulk wine sales.
“In South Australia, it’s going to be a fantastic year,” said Damian Torresan, a winemaker at Koppamura wines in South Australia. “China has been a bit of a golden ticket for a lot of places sitting on bulk wine for the last few years.”
Though China was by far ahead, bottled wine exports were good across the board in Asia, with those to Japan up by 11 percent, those to Hong Kong gaining 6 percent and exports to Thailand up 7 percent.
In many nations, the changes reflected an increase in wealth and status, with wine the means of showcasing both.
“In terms of Thailand, what we’re hearing is there’s an increase in wealth and increasing wine awareness so people are experimenting and buying more,” said Louisa Aherne, a spokeswoman for Wine Australia, a government agency that supports the wine sector.
“It’s a social status associated with drinking wine so it’s a similar story to that of China, to a lesser degree obviously.”
To a certain extent, the current success is due to luck. There has been good Australian production in the face of a poor U.S. season in 2011 and low volumes in Europe in 2012.
While growers were pleased with their gains, they remained wary, noting that while China is an area of massive potential growth, some of the gains may well have been due to short-term conditions.
“Absolutely celebrate all of the positives and hope that it does reflect the beginning of a substantial turnaround, but at the very least I think we could say a full industry turnaround is probably a couple of years away yet,” said Lawrie Stanford, executive director of Wine Grape Growers Australia.
A 2012 study by Australian Growers and Resources Economic suggests that in the next two years production-bearing areas will grow, potentially posing a different challenge.
“As an organisation we really do believe that we are
Article source: PRNewswire
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China’s thirst for Australian wines golden: for now
SYDNEY |
SYDNEY (Reuters) – China’s growing thirst for Australian wines may be a golden ticket for now, but whether demand will last remains unknown even as vintages from Down Under gain new fans amid a surge of growth in broader Asia.
Australian bottled wine exports to China soared by 15 percent year on year in 2012, according to official data, bolstered by a sales push targeting the country’s wealthy drinkers and making Australia the top overseas market for wines priced at more than A$7.50 ($7.90) a liter.
Overall, exports gained 3 percent globally, with declines in bottled wine exports to some countries offset by increases in bulk wine sales.
“In South Australia, it’s going to be a fantastic year,” said Damian Torresan, a winemaker at Koppamura wines in South Australia. “China has been a bit of a golden ticket for a lot of places sitting on bulk wine for the last few years.”
Though China was by far ahead, bottled wine exports were good across the board in Asia, with those to Japan up by 11 percent, those to Hong Kong gaining 6 percent and exports to Thailand up 7 percent.
In many nations, the changes reflected an increase in wealth and status, with wine the means of showcasing both.
“In terms of Thailand, what we’re hearing is there’s an increase in wealth and increasing wine awareness so people are experimenting and buying more,” said Louisa Aherne, a spokeswoman for Wine Australia, a government agency that supports the wine sector.
“It’s a social status associated with drinking wine so it’s a similar story to that of China, to a lesser degree obviously.”
To a certain extent, the current success is due to luck. There has been good Australian production in the face of a poor U.S. season in 2011 and low volumes in Europe in 2012.
While growers were pleased with their gains, they remained wary, noting that while China is an area of massive potential growth, some of the gains may well have been due to short-term conditions.
“Absolutely celebrate all of the positives and hope that it does reflect the beginning of a substantial turnaround, but at the very least I think we could say a full industry turnaround is probably a couple of years away yet,” said Lawrie Stanford, executive director of Wine Grape Growers Australia.
A 2012 study by Australian Growers and Resources Economic suggests that in the next two years production-bearing areas will grow, potentially posing a different challenge.
“As an organisation we really do believe that we are
Article source: PRNewswire
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
