Wine Australia has released its Annual Operational Plan 2019-20, which details its plans to invest a record $79m on behalf of the grape and wine sector in 2019–20.
The investments will be made in research, development and extension (RD&E), market development and export regulation. Wine Australia’s CEO Andreas Clark, said the focus on improving the perception of Australian wine in international markets was paying dividends.
“In the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 March 2019[1], total free on board (FOB) export value has increased by 47 per cent from $1.9bn to $2.78bn. At the same time, the average value of all exports has increased by 31 per cent from $2.61 per litre to $3.41 per litre with value growth in all price segments.
“This increased average value of exports has been accompanied by a 32 per cent increase in the national average wine grape purchase price from $463 per tonne in vintage 2015, to $609 per tonne in vintage 2018.
“The health of the sector reflects Australian grape growers’ commitment to producing quality grapes sustainably and efficiently and our exporter’s commitment to growing markets by investing in promotion and market presence.”
Wine Australia is currently in the fifth year of its Strategic Plan 2015-202 and Clark said consultation would soon begin with the grape and wine sector to inform the development of the next five-year strategic plan.
Wine Australia was working with Australian Grape and Wine Inc, which was developing an overarching long-term plan that would guide the objectives of Wine Australia’s five-year plan.
“We’ll be holding consultation meetings in each state and grape growers and winemakers will have the opportunity to provide their opinions on what our RD&E, marketing and regulation priorities should be over the next five-year period,” Clark said.
The record expenditure reflects additional revenue from the Australian Government’s $50m Export and Regional Wine Support Package, the administration of the $10m Wine Tourism and Cellar Door Grant and a drawdown of reserves to support RD&E expenditure.
For more detail about what will be delivered in 2019–20, the Wine Australia AOP can be downloaded from the Wine Australia website./ https://www.wineaustralia.com/about-us/strategy-and-planning.