The news out of China that prohibitive tariffs on Australian wine could be lifted is a welcome sign for grape growers in the Hills and further afield.
Since the tariffs of between 107% and 212% were put in place on Australia wine by Beijing in 2020, the value of the country’s wine exports to China has dropped from a peak of $946.5m prior to the tariffs to just $2.8m in the year to January 2024.
The tariffs, which were a result of a diplomatic feud between the two countries, are just one of the challenges that Hills growers have faced in recent times.
An oversupply of wine has been a byproduct of the failing exports to China, resulting in some growers being unable to sell their grapes, with some even looking for ways out of the industry.
While the Hills, which is a premium wine growing region, has been less affected than other regions, like the Riverland, some growers in Langhorne Creek are continuing to suffer from oversupply.
Even if China’s decision to lift wine tariffs does come to pass, it will take a long time for Australian wine makers to re-establish their market in China, especially given that data shows the wine market as a whole in China has shrunk by 67% since the tariffs were introduced.
There will be challenges ahead and there is still work to do at an industry and Government level, but it is an exciting prospect for growers who have been suffering from these tariffs for the past four years.
The State and Federal governments have demonstrated an intelligent approach to international relations with China, but they still need to tread carefully as we wait for a final decision and – hopefully – set about re-establishing wine trade relationships.
The decision to drop the tariffs could lead to hundreds of millions of dollars of additional revenue coming into this industry at a time that it desperately needs it, as Premier Peter Malinauskas said last week.
Lets hope that these benefits will flow on to many struggling growers across the State.
