Australia: 2015 Wine Annual
Australia is one of the world’s leading wine producers and exporters. Production for the 2015 wine vintage is forecast to rise to 1.6 million tons of grapes, which equates to 1.2 billion liters of wine. Yield is expected to increase due to improved seasonal conditions. In recent years, wine producers have suffered from declining profitability, industry fragmentation and overcapacity. The recent depreciation of the Australian dollar should provide a significant boost to exports into major markets in the United States, Europe and Asia, while Australian wine imports are likely to stabilize. U.S. wine exports to Australia remain disadvantaged by the current Wine Equalization Tax (WET) system, and the resulting negative impact on U.S. export sales will likely be reinforced by the stronger U.S. dollar.
