By Byron Kaye
SYDNEY, April 29 (Reuters) – Australian winemakers shipped simply A$12 million ($9 million) of wines to China within the December quarter, from A$325 million a 12 months earlier, business figures confirmed, confirming that hefty new tariffs have all however worn out their largest export market.
The figures from business physique Wine Australia on Thursday present the swift affect of measures taken by China’s commerce ministry and the nation’s anti-dumping probe into imports of Australian wines final 12 months.
The figures additionally put a greenback worth on a broader geopolitical dispute between Australia and its largest commerce companion which has unfold to the sugar, lobster, barley, and coal and copper ore industries.
Within the three months to end-December, the quarter after China mentioned it was investigating the Australians on suspicion of exporting wine at a loss to achieve market share, or “dumping”, Australian wine shipments collapsed to nearly nothing and stayed there initially of 2021, the figures confirmed.
That marked the top of a yearslong run of double-digit progress in Australia-China wine exports, by greenback worth, which lasted into October earlier than crashing the next month, based on the figures.
For the 12 months to March 2021, gross sales to mainland China, which takes practically a 3rd of Australian wine exports, fell 24% to A$869 million. The following largest export market was the UK, up by a 3rd to $461 million as winemakers redirected exports there.
“They have been out to play political video games, they wished Australia to get on its knees, sadly we mentioned no,” mentioned Bruce Tyrrell, managing director of Tyrrell’s Wines, within the Hunter Valley north of Sydney, which beforehand despatched as much as 1 / 4 of abroad gross sales to China.
“We have got international locations like U.S., UK, Canada, the normal markets. We have now obtained to extend our distribution within the counties we cope with,” he instructed Reuters by telephone.
The worth of wine exports to america rose 4% to A$432 million within the 12 months to March, the Wine Australia figures confirmed.
($1 = 1.2819 Australian {dollars})
(Modifying by Jacqueline Wong)
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