Share and Follow
Wine producers continue to face tough conditions worldwide, with total exports falling by 4 per cent to $1.94 billion last year, industry group Wine Australia said.
The slump in exports to China, formerly Australia’s top overseas wine market, has been felt across the entire industry since 2020 when the communist government placed tariffs of 116 to 218 per cent on bottled Australian imports.
While there were 2366 wine producers exporting to China in 2019, the figure has been slashed to 114 today, Wine Australia said.
The top export market now is the US – with a market value of $390 million.
But exports last year to the UK, the second-largest market, crashed by 18 per cent to $373 million.
It was caused by Britons heading to pubs and restaurants after the ending of pandemic restrictions and less public caution, leading to fewer sales from alcohol retailers and supermarkets. 
Wine Australia said rising inflation, business costs and interest rates impacted the profit margins of producers through last year, and it expects this will continue in 2023.
Read Related Also: NZ truckie who won $19million on Powerball claims he was conned by ‘clairvoyant’: Mark Lipsham
Wine was among more than $20 billion of Australian exports, including coal, barley and seafood, hit by Chinese unofficial bans and tariffs three years ago as diplomatic relations between Canberra and Beijing soured.
But after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met China President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, last month, relations appear to be warming.
Early this week, Trade Minister Don Farrell held a remote meeting with his Chinese counterpart to discuss the lifting of trade bans on Australian goods.
“Our discussion covered a range of trade and investment issues, including the need for resumption of unimpeded trade for Australian exporters so that Chinese consumers can continue to benefit from high-quality Australian products,” Farrell said.
He said he plans to travel to Beijing in the “near future” for further talks.
Protests erupt across China in response to COVID-zero policy
