Aussie winemakers want China trade deal
Australian winemakers have called for negotiations on a trade deal with China to wrap up soon, as New Zealand prepares to sign an agreement with the Asian country expected to give their exporters a boost.
The Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation (AWBC) has said the New Zealand-China free trade agreement (FTA) due to be signed in Beijing on Monday increased the need for Australia to conclude their own trade deal.
"We will be keen to see our free trade agreement with China concluded sooner rather than later to match preferences that are given to other countries," said Andreas Clark from the AWBC.
"Certainly, Chile has already got preferential access into China and, obviously, New Zealand will follow suit, depending on the access they are getting under the FTA," Clark said.
He said that while Australian wine sales into China continued to grow strongly he expected New Zealand sellers to benefit from the new deal.
"They will, obviously, benefit from a lower duty and New Zealand wine will be able to be priced more effectively in the market there as a consequence," he said.
Tony Battaglene from the Winemakers' Federation of Australia said he did not expect Australian wine sales into China to be harmed by the trade deal, because New Zealand makers sold only small volumes of wine into the country.
Australia currently exports about $54 million of wine to China annually, compared to New Zealand which exports just $NZ4 million ($A3.4 million) each year.
"Every time someone signs an FTA it means that they have got a competitive edge. But even though we don't see this as a major problem for us, we would certainly like to be in there getting the same benefits," he said.
New Zealand Trade Minister Phil Goff said on Monday he thought the trade agreement would boost exports, including wine.
"It is very much in our sights to increase our volumes of sheep, meat and, of course, dairy products and other products like wine and kiwifruit as well," he said on radio Monday morning.
China currently has import tariffs of 14 per cent on bottled wine, and 20 per cent on bulk wine.