Foodsectornews.com - Australian Wine Will Go Places

Australian Wine Will Go Places

Wednesday, 20 June 2007

Bright prospects await the Australian wine industry as the global demand for wine undergoes a transformation with newer emerging markets’ increasing demand for higher quality wines.

The wine industry is eyeing sales of a $4 billion surplus in the next five years. This was reported by ABC Rural relating to the new national strategy on May 2, 2007 disclosed by the Winemakers Federation and the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation.

ABC Rural news also published a statement by Wine Australia task force spokesman Kevin McClintock that ran as follows, “We forecast or we expected to do a revenue stream both domestically and globally of $26 billion. The gains will come through a combination of new marketing, a focus on regional and fine wines, clearer identification of niche market opportunities and a focus on business sustainability at the individual winery level”.

‘Wine Australia: Directions to 2025’, the new national industry strategy, is counting on the readiness of consumers to pay more than $15 average price for a bottle of premium wine. Conceived in conjunction between the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation (AWBC) and Winemakers’ Federation of Australia the strategy presents four branding personalities Brand Champions, Regional Heroes, Generation Next and Landmark Australia with the objective of taking expectations of Australian wine to another level altogether.

As per the strategy, cumulative domestic and export sales till 2012 have the potential to touch $30 billion over the current production levels of $26 billion. The US and UK have been identified as the most promising short-term gains with China possessing the biggest long-term opportunity for the Australian wine industry.

There are major opportunities possible for hiking up domestic wine consumption due to population growth in prime wine consuming age groups, increasing dining out market, growing popularity of the Mediterranean diet, tourism growth and the desire for more individualized beverage experiences.

Australian wine exports are on rapid growth. Also expected is a shift in global wine consumption from traditional wine producing countries to newer emerging countries dependent on imports. A research analyst at RNCOS has concluded that Australia is in ideal position to cash in on the demand for consistent higher quality wines. With the shift in wine consumption to non-traditional markets, new market opportunities are likely to unwrap. Four major markets that will account for most of the growth are United Kingdom, United States, Germany and Japan.