As the New Zealand wine industry continues to strengthen, the demand for exports has continued to grow. Alistair King, Findex’s viticulture specialist says the outlook for the New Zealand wine industry is looking positive, especially with a strong 2016 Vintage.

‘After a small 2015 vintage, grower and producers are positively looking forward with strong results from the 2016 Vintage’ says King. The 2016 vintage delivered to demand with 420,000 tonnes of grapes, up by 34% on the 312,000 tonnes of 2015.

King continues ‘A strong vintage was needed with export growth stalling in the past few months after shortages as a result of the short vintage in 2015.’ Exports are currently sitting at $1.56 billion however this vintage will push exports towards $1.7b by the end of 2017. This holds well for the industry achieving their goal of more than $2 billion exports by 2020.

‘New Zealand wine is expensive to product and this drives the price up to make margins. The New Zealand wine industry does rely on good growth and wage economic indicators in the market. There is political uncertainty in the New Zealand wine industries leading export countries of United States, United Kingdom and Australia however this is not unnerving grower or industry experts.’ King comments

‘A grape glut is not to be expected. There are a lot of new vineyards being planted and as a result there will be significant growth in production but the marketing of our products will support this and demand for exports will continue to drive the industry forward’ King adds.

Not only is supply meeting demand, but the good summer should be reflected in the quality of wine that is produced. With good demand and a high quality product, King feels positive for the outlook of the New Zealand wine industry.

For more information, please contact your Findex adviser.