Wine Industry Report

Australian wine producers and exporters have a powerful new tool to help them take on export markets as diverse as Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, Russia, Singapore and the USA.

To assist exporters to navigate the maze of wine-importing regulations around the world, the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation today released its new Export Market Guide to provide a comprehensive guide to the market opportunities and regulatory environment of 23 countries.

AWBC Chief Executive Sam Tolley described the Export Market Guide as a “must have” reference guide for Australian wine producers and exporters.

“For the past 18 months, Australian wine exports have remained at $2.8 billion in value despite the fact that our nation is selling ever-increasing volumes of wine, albeit at a lower price per litre. The Corporation’s new Export Market Guide will assist wine producers and exporters to identify and take advantage of profitable market opportunities around the world and, ultimately, should lead to the growth in value of Australian wine exports,” said Mr Tolley. “The Corporation’s Export Market Guide is an essential reference tool for wine producers and exporters.”

AWBC General Manager, Compliance and Trade, Steve Guy, said the new Export Market Guide was based on the Corporation’s former Export Market Grid advisory materials but the new Guide gave much greater coverage of issues relevant to specific markets, including market size and scope, import duties and taxes, labelling regulations and other country-specific export requirements.

Mr Guy said specific Export Market Guides currently were available for Austria, Belgium-Luxembourg, Canada, China, Denmark, the European Union, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan and Australia’s two largest export markets, the UK and the USA.

“We are currently developing guides for seven more countries – Sweden, Finland, Italy, Thailand, Philippines, United Arab Emirates and Indonesia – and these will be progressively released over the next six months. The Corporation has invested considerable time and resources into producing the Export Market Guide and, because it is critical that the information is kept up to date, each specific country guide will be updated on a regular basis to ensure its relevance for exporters.”

Licensed wine exporters can gain access to the Export Market Guide for a discounted annual fee of $99 (including GST). The non-discounted access fee is $550 a year. Orders can be made via the Corporation’s website at www.awbc.com.au.

The Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation is the Australian Government statutory authority responsible for the global Wine Australia marketing program, regulating Australian wine exports, collating and analysing Australian wine sector statistics, assisting Australian wine producers and exporters with trade access issues, and defining and protecting Australia’s wine regions.