Export plan to aid small SW wineries

Small South West wineries are set to benefit from a plan to double export income in the wine industry.

Last month the WA Wine Industry Association released its WA Wine Industry Strategic Plan 2014-24 which aims to double WA wine exports to $100 million in the next three years.

According to the association, only 12 per cent of WA wineries’ income is made from exports – 48 per cent comes from sales within the State.

One of the association’s aims is to have greater regional participation in the export market within the next six months.

In the past two years, WA wine exports have risen from $33 million to $43 million a year – $16 million of which went to China.

WA Wine Industry Association producer representative’s chairman Redmond Sweeny said the increase in wine exports would not come from the bigger wineries.

“That army of smaller to medium size producers have to develop an appetite for export, ” he said.

“In South Australia they have a culture of exporting, they export nearly 50 per cent of what they produce – and we need to develop a similar cultural mindset.

“We can’t just rely on our own backyard for sustainability.”

Geographe Wine Industry Association president Sue Ward said it was great the region’s wine was being considered for export.

“Most of the businesses are fairly small so they don’t really export, it is more of the bigger wineries who would do it, ” she said.

“Some of the smaller wineries have boutique markets over in Europe and Asia.

“Export increases the profile of the region internationally and it’s great that the high quality we have here in Geographe is being internationally recognised.”

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