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The industry recorded the highest annual export of $766
million, ending March 2008. This was higher than the previous year's export
$ of 661 million, registering a growth of 16%.
Philip Gregan, CEO of New Zealand Winegrowers believes
that the growth reflects the strong demand for New Zealand wines in new
and existing markets.
"Our on-going market success reflects our status
as a world class producer of sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, chardonnay and
a range of other styles like Cabernet Merlots."
New Zealand wine volumes have risen at a compound annual
growth rate of 19 per cent over the past decade and 26 per cent for the
past five years.
Growth was constrained by shortages of key grape varieties
and the high dollar, Mr Gregan said.
The shortage problem is not expected to hit the industry
this year with bumper crops expected due to good weather. One winery,
The New Zealand Wine Company, has only yesterday reported
an increase in crush of 44% as compare to last year's 992 tonnes.
There is a strong and rising demand in key markets such
as the United Kingdom, Australia, United States and Canada.
Although India is still a very small market for NZ wines
which represent a very small portion of imports, there has been a marked
increase in the percentage growth of sales due to a continued push by
importers like Brindco, Sovereign, Sula, Wine Park, FineWinesNmore and
Amfora wines. At the first India Wine Challenge held last year, Forrest
Estate Pinot Noir was declared the best international red wine. Seemingly,
this has been helping the market expansion to some extent.
The efforts by the New Zealand Trade Commission and
the promotion activities by the untiring Trade Commissioner, Paul Vaughan
have started showing results. Today, no importer worth his salt can afford
not to have at least one NZ brand and that is like having only one car
in the family. Some importers have two or more labels. With the biggies
like Pernod Ricard also considering bringing in their Montana wines soon
and more brands in the pipeline, the NZ wines are expected to more than
double their present share of the market within the next couple of years,
provided they are blessed with bumper crops next year too.
1 US$= 1.28 NZ $ and A$ 1.07 (Source xe.com)
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