Austrade and Wine Australia have announced a partnership to strengthen Australian wine exports through a free digital knowledge hub.

The Wine Export Ready Hub will provide information, guides and templates for wine producers looking to understand the export process. The Hub will also help winemakers to find overseas buyers and develop plans for export.

Xavier Simonet, CEO of Austrade, said the hub will assist Aussie winemakers in going global.

“Australia produces some of the world’s most sought-after wines, and the new Wine Export Ready Hub will help our producers get more product to consumers the world-over,” Simonet commented.

“This one-stop-shop, developed by Austrade and Wine Australia, will provide clear, comprehensive answers to wine producers’ most pertinent export questions.”

This optimism was shared by Dr Martin Cole, CEO of Wine Australia, who said: “With around 60 per cent of Australia’s wine production exported each year, the profitability of the wine sector is strongly linked with exports.”

“Many wine producers are developing strategies to intensify exports and to enter new markets, and we’re delighted to launch the Wine Export Ready Hub in partnership with Austrade to support these activities.”

In the wake of the Chinese tariff crisis, export difficulties for Australian winemakers have been well documented. Nevertheless, Austrade stated that ‘the values of wine exports grew in 71 destinations in the year to March 2022, according to Wine Australia’s Export Report.’

Other significant Asian nations were amongst these markets, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan.

Austrade also highlighted that Australian winemakers were punching above their weight in terms of exports, producing about four per cent of the world’s wine, but placing as the fifth largest exporter.

‘Australia is home to more than 6,000 grape growers and 2,000 wineries. Over 1000 exporters send more than 18,000 different wines to more than 100 destinations worldwide,’ Austrade’s statement read.

The Wine Export Ready Hub will complement existing resources provided by both Austrade and Wine Australia, which include guidance on how to enter new markets, regulatory services and Australian Wine Connect, an online platform that showcases the country’s wines.

The hub follows a commitment of $72.7m from the Australian Government to establish the Agribusiness Expansion Initiative, helping Australian agriculture to diversify into different foreign countries, while boosting sales in established overseas markets. The Wine Export Ready Hub forms part of this Initiative.  

Visit the hub here.

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