McLaren Vale Welcomes Return To The China Market

The McLaren Vale wine industry welcomes the announcement that China has lifted all import duties on Australian bottled wine.

For the five years preceding the imposition of duties of up to 218% on Australian bottled wine in 2021, China made up on average 40% of McLaren Vale’s total wine exports by value.

McLaren Vale’s wine industry is heartened by the announcement of the return of wine trade between China and Australia, with many wine businesses eager to re-enter the market and renew the strong trade relationships developed with their Chinese partners over the past decade.

McLaren Vale’s global reputation for producing outstanding premium red wines coupled with a deep commitment to environmental sustainability and protection are highly valued by Chinese consumers, and McLaren Vale’s wineries look forward to sharing their extraordinary wines with this market again.

McLaren Vale Grape Wine and Tourism Association (MVGWTA) CEO Erin Leggat said the industry “acknowledges and appreciates the sustained efforts of the Federal and South Australian governments in stabilising relations with China. I commend Premier Malinauskas for his comprehensive $1.85 million support package for the South Australian wine industry announced on Saturday, and now call on the Federal government to provide similar urgent and tangible support for the struggling Australian wine industry”.

“The viticulture, wine and wine tourism industries are the lifeblood of many regional communities across the country, but we are struggling through the most difficult trading conditions in a generation with exports at the lowest they’ve been in 20 years. To regain our standing, enable us to access global markets and make best use of the opportunity the re-opening of the China market provides, we need federal export support mechanisms, including the paused Export Market Development Grant (EMDG), to be made available to the industry immediately” she said.