Friday, 1 November, 2013
Brendan Manning, The New Zealand Herald
Demand for wine is outstripping supply, the report from American financial services firm Morgan Stanley said. Global wine production peaked in 2004 and has been steadily falling since, with international demand outstripping supply by 300 million cases last year, resulting in "the deepest shortfall in over 40 years of records".
"Plummeting production" in Europe driven by "ongoing vine pull and poor weather" was partly to blame. The shortfall was expected to result in a "significant increase in export demand, and higher prices for exports globally".
New world wines - from Australia, Chile, Argentina, South Africa and New Zealand - were best placed to benefit, the report said. New Zealand export growth had historically been very strong, rising ten-fold over the past 15 years as demand for its sauvignon blanc "skyrocketed".
"Stable domestic consumption, a rebound in export demand, combined with a fall in production has seen NZ move into an undersupply situation for the first time in more than 15 years."
New Zealand relied on three export markets - Australia, Britain and the United States, the report found.
"Export
prices for New Zealand wine are high and rising, almost double
Australia's pricing and second only to France on the global stage," it
said.
To read more, click here