The Australian winemaker raises a glass to raise a UK free trade agreement

One of Australia’s largest wine exporters has said a free trade agreement with the UK would reduce the cost of better quality wine for British drinkers, while helping to fill the void left by a collapse of exports to China.

Australia’s wine industry has faced heavy tariffs of up to 218% imposed by Beijing last year as diplomatic and economic tensions between the two countries increased.

Limestone Coast Winery, one of Australia’s top 20 exporters of wine by value, had the profit margin “gone overnight,” as China accounted for about 50% of revenue and most of the your cash flow.

“It was‘ Black Friday ’when tariffs were cut,” said Richie Vandenberg, chief executive of the South Australian producer. Overall, Australian wine exports to China plummeted 96% year-on-year between December and March, according to data from Wine Australia, a government agency.

But the prospect of one free of fees, free of fees The UK-Australia trade deal has bolstered hopes that the UK will fill the void left by China.

Wine is Australia’s largest export to the UK, ahead of lamb, but is subject to a tariff that adds approximately 10 to 12p per bottle of wine, according to Wine Australia.

Limestone Coast Winery, which is behind The Hidden Sea label but also supplies its own branded wines from supermarkets, said this makes the country “by far” the least profitable market for its products, but that a deal without tariffs would allow you to compete.

Justin Moran, co-founder of the company, said: “Chilean wine has a 13% tariff advantage over the UK. If Australia could make a good deal with the UK, it would be of great benefit to Australian wine and benefit the British consumer.

An agreement between the UK and Australia has become embroiled in controversy, as farmers have warned that tariff-free meat and lamb imported from Down Under could have a devastating effect on the UK peasantry. The Australian agricultural company, the country’s largest exporter of beef, said this week it could be a tariff-free deal ten times its sales in the UK.

Vandenberg, speaking of the Coonawarra region, where the group bears fruit, argued that the UK and Australia are natural trading partners. “I have empathy for Scottish farmers, but it would be a shame to stop a free trade agreement between the UK and Australia,” he said. “We are a great business partner. The British consumer will win. “

Not all Australian winemakers are betting on the “old world” to offset the impact of Chinese tariffs. Accolade Wines, owner of the Hardys and Echo Falls brands, said yes wine ship from Chile and elsewhere in China to avoid the fee.

Australian wine exports to the UK grew by a third to $ 461 million between December and March, while shipped volume grew by a fifth to 264 million liters. The average value received for Australian wine in the UK rose 10 per cent to $ 1.75 per liter, the highest level in a decade.

Limestone Coast Winery, which has sold 100 million liters of wine since it was founded in 1998, hopes to use the savings from the potential UK tariff hike in promoting The Hidden Sea brand, which uses profits to eliminate the plastic of the Indonesian seas.

Moran accused some British retailers and the government of “green washing” over disposable plastic, as a large amount of waste is shipped to Turkey and Southeast Asia. “They’re absolute retardants, but they keep touching the chest about removing plastic,” he said.

Vandenberg is an Australian football icon who played for Hawthorn 20 years ago and was a central figure in the infamous ‘line in the sand’ fight.

“People know me from AFL, which is a tough, tough sport, but here I’m taking the plastic out of the ocean,” he said, adding that people don’t need to be “green” hard to solve problems like plastic pollution.