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Wine Industry Export summary

Queensland wines are making an impression overseas with several wineries currently exporting to all corners of the world.

Industry Capability
Queensland wine exports are expected to continue to grow. Ten years ago the majority of Queensland wine was sold direct from the winery. Today the industry continues to expand and grow and exports are thriving.

Queensland Wine Exports
Over the past 3 years Queensland Wines have been exported the USA, UK, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Canada, Switzerland, Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore and the Netherlands, Iceland, New Zealand, China.

Target markets
The Wine Industry Development Division in partnership with the Department of Premier and Cabinet's Trade Division have a number of activities planned to assist both ready and emerging wine producers.

Target markets for 2005/6 are Japan and Korea. Details of activities are outlined on the Queensland Wine Industry Development Strategy.

Australia
Australia is the world's seventh largest wine producer, crushing over 1.15 million tonnes of grapes in 1999-2000 to produce 806.4 million litres of wine. The yield for 2000-2001 is estimated at 1.43 million tonnes, an increase of 25 per cent on the previous year.

For the first time in 2000-2001, production of red wine grapes is greater than white wine grapes:
Red grapes - 821 585 tonnes (58 per cent) increased 44 per cent from previous vintage
White grapes - 604 647 tonnes (42 per cent) an increase of 5 per cent from the previous vintage

Australian Wine Export Council
The Australian Wine Export Council (AWEC) is a committee of, and the export promotion arm of, the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation.

Formed in November 1991, AWEC committee comprises nominated chief executives of Australian wine producing companies, licensed wine exporters and nominated members of the AWBC Board.

The head office of AWEC is in Adelaide and it maintains staff in London, Frankfurt, The Hague, New York, Toronto and Tokyo.

AWEC conducts promotional programs in the UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Japan, Asia, USA, and Canada on a cooperative basis with Australian wine exporters. Through these programs, the awareness and image of Australian wine is enhanced significantly through participation in trade fairs, consumer and trade tastings, and sponsored visits of key journalists and trade personnel to Australia. AWEC provides supplementary export advice, statistical information and promotional material.

AWEC works closely with Austrade offices in many other locations throughout the world and this assists the entire Australian wine industry by presenting a collective and collaborative image development via its promotional programs in key export markets.

AWEC also supports promotional programs for Australian wine, which are delivered through Wine Importer Committees in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

As Australian wine makers continually seek to expand their horizons into the global economy, the services provided by AWEC become critical to the short, medium and long-term success of this vision.

The Australian Wine Export Council
Cnr Botanic and Hackney Roads
Adelaide SA 5000
PO Box 2733
Kent Town SA 5071
Ph: +61 8 8228 2040
Fax: +61 8 8228 2048
E-mail: awec@awec.com.au

For information on wine export approvals click here for more information.

When is compliance with the Export Regulations necessary?
If an export shipment of Australian wine or brandy exceeds 100 litres (regardless of the quantity of each individual product) full compliance with the regulations is required and you will need an export licence.

To obtain an export licence an application form must be completed. The application form is available from the AWBC and is included with the 'Guide to Export' (add in a link?). There are certain prescribed criteria that are taken into consideration when assessing the application. They include the financial standing of the applicant, the applicant's ability to obtain grape products from Australian suppliers, and other matters applicable to the applicant's experience relating to the promotion of wine, including any that may adversely affect the export of wine. The applicant must have a place of business in Australia.

You need approval for each product
One of the objectives of the AWBC is to ensure that Australian wines intended for export are sound and merchantable and do not detract from the established reputation Australian wine exporters have developed. This is achieved by preventing the export of wines that have faults.

The AWBC maintains a panel of wine inspectors of the highest integrity, qualification and experience. The inspectors are industry members and ideally have experience in wine show judging at a regional or state level. The inspectors are rostered in pairs; one inspector must have a technical/winemaking background, whilst the other may have a commercial background in wine sales or marketing.

The process for obtaining continuing approval involves sending two finished samples to the AWBC, accompanied by copies of the labels and by a Continuing Approval Application (enclosed within the 'Guide to Export'). The wine undergoes several examinations. The labelling and analytical detail provided is checked for compliance with domestic requirements, including the blending regulations. Compliance with the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (FSC) is required where the import market has no requirements that conflict with the FSC. Where the destination country has specific requirements, the product must comply with the import markets requirements and with the FSC in every other respect. Finally the product is masked and presented to the wine inspectors for a sensory evaluation.

Following the evaluation the inspectors must satisfy themselves that the wine reasonably reflects the grape varieties claimed on the label, that there is nothing on the label or certificate which is questionable in light of their evaluation, and may require a subsequent independent analysis if necessary. A wine may be rejected if, in the inspector's judgement, it is faulty. An exporter may resubmit the wine for a second evaluation by a different panel of inspectors.

Approval for bottled product is granted for 12 months. Wine in alternative packaging (including bulk wine) is approved for 3 months (6 months in the case of fortified wine).

Last updated 07 February 2006.