U.S. Water News Online
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Australia's severe drought could have an upside for winemakers by reducing the wine glut, the government's industry regulator said.
Bumper crops in recent years have left many wineries and retailers with an excess supply, prompting them to slash prices.
The Australian Wine and Brandy Corp., which regulates and markets the nation's 2.8 billion Australian dollar (US$2.17 billion) wine export industry, has slashed its estimate for excess wine stocks by more than half.
Water restrictions imposed because of the drought and frosts in the southern grape-growing regions were eating into production and stockpiles that have built up in the past two years, the organization said.
The government agency cut its estimate of excess wine stocks to 460 million liters (122 million gallons), down from a previous estimate of more than 900 million liters (238 million gallons), and said the industry could now be in balance in 2008-09 -- two years earlier than previously forecast.
AWBC's manager of information and analysis Lawrie Stanford said the weather effects were expected to cut the 2007 vintage by around 20 percent to 1.56 million tons from an average harvest of 1.94 million tons.
The extreme conditions were still likely to be felt in 2008, he said.
"There is, therefore, prospect of another low yielding season in 2008, which could see further drawdowns of stock to a balanced position as early as 2008-09 if export sales continue as forecast," Stanford said.
Stanford said Britain was expected to remain the largest buyer of Australian wine until 2010-11, and that the United States was predicted to be the main driver of new demand, with a growth rate of 7 percent over the next five years.
Canada and the emerging market in China also are forecast to be important customers, he said.
Return to the U.S. Water News Archives page Or Return to the U.S. Water News Homepage
Editor@uswaternews.com
*Your Name:
*Your Email:
*Friend's Email:
Use a comma to separate e-mail addresses:
*Your Comments:
Hi, I thought you might like to read this article.
*Required Fields