The Aussie dollar needs to keep sliding in order for the local wine industry to recoup lost business in the export market, says managing director of Taylors Wines, Mitchell Taylor.
According to the AFR, official figures released on Monday showed that Australia’s wine exports dropped five percent to $1.76 billion for 2013, with the value of exports dropping in all four major markets: the US, Britain, China and Canada. The Total volume of wine exported fell by six percent to 678 million litres.
Wine Australia’s acting chief executive, Andreas Clark, said while exports to the US were lower, the average value increased by nine percent to $2.53 per litre, the first increase in average value since 2007.
Taylor says the dollar’s recent slide is helping the industry and boosting optimism. “The high dollar makes exports very difficult because you have to keep lifting your prices,” he said. “A sustained fall will be very advantageous for us.”
Taylors Wines, based in South Australia’s Clare Valley, has sales revenues of around $54 million and annual case sales of between 350,000 to 550,000. The brand exports around 25 percent of its wines, but according to Taylor this fell to around 15 percent when the dollar was at its strongest.
Wine slump: figures from Wine Australia
- Total wine exports in 2013 to the United States were down 2.5 percent to $440 million
- Exports to Britain were 8.2 percent lower at $369 million
- Exports to China slipped by 7.6 per cent to $223 million
- Exports to Canada decreased 4.7 percent to $174.5 million
- Exports to Sweden dropped 25.3 percent to $21.9 million
- Exports to Ireland fell by 33 percent to $14.2 million.
- Exports to Hong Kong were up 19.7 percent to $77.3 million
- Exports to New Zealand rose 6.8 percent to $70 million