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A world-class wine industry
6 Sep 2004
No obstacle seems to slow the growth of the Australian wine industry: in 1980 it exported 2 per cent of its wine and was virtually unknown in Europe and the US. Today, Australia is the second-largest source of wine imported into the US, and in UK supermarkets recently it has been outselling French wines. Australia is the largest New World wine exporter, surpassing South Africa, the US, Chile and Argentina.
Between 1990 and 2003 Australia's exports to the US, its largest market, increased 29-fold. But growth faltered somewhat when a wine grape glut in California saw huge discounting of US wine, then in February this year the Australian dollar hit a seven-year high of US80 cents. Since then, however, the Australian wine industry has bounced back, with profits rising and export revenue up to $US900 million ($1.3 billion) in the first half of 2004. By 2007, wine is expected to pass Australia's top traditional farm exports of wool, wheat and beef.
Australian Financial Review, 6/9/04.
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