New Zealand’s Annual Wine Exports Rise 19% on Harvest, Demand

Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- New Zealand’s annual wine exports rose 19 percent to a record, boosted by a bigger grape harvest and rising demand, according to the industry’s national organization.

The value of wine sold overseas rose to NZ$904 million ($460 million) in the year ended Dec. 31, New Zealand Winegrowers Chief Executive Officer Philip Gregan said in a statement e-mailed to Bloomberg News.

New Zealand harvested a record 285,000 metric tons of grapes in the year ended June 30, increasing supplies to winemakers including Pernod Ricard SA’s Montana and Church Road units and Constellation Brands Inc.’s Nobilo arm.

“Growth in the past year has been powered by strong sales in key markets, led by Australia,” Gregan said. “We have also seen some benefit from the lower value of the New Zealand dollar.”

Australian sales rose to 32.8 million liters (8.7 million gallons) and NZ$310 million, overtaking the U.K. as New Zealand’s biggest export market. The two countries and the U.S. together account for about 80 percent of New Zealand’s wine shipments.

A jump in last year’s Sauvignon Blanc harvest was “a very big part” of the export improvement, Gregan said. Pinot Gris and Riesling varieties also showed increases, while red wine exports were constrained by the smaller 2007 harvest, he said.

Although the global economic outlook is unclear, the industry is likely to reach its NZ$1 billion export sales target during 2009, a year earlier than planned, Gregan said.

New Zealand’s total exports rose 17 percent to NZ$42.9 billion in the year ended Dec. 31, led by dairy products, meat and oil, the government statistician said Jan. 29.