China is NO.2 of Canada’s wine destination

Canada’s wine industry is growing strongly, but losing market share at home and abroad, according to a new report from economists at the Bank of Montreal. 

Canadian wine production has grown by 7.6 per cent a year since 1998, compared with just one per cent for the overall beverage sector.

But market share for Canadian wineries slipped to about one-third of the domestic market in 2010 because of intense pressure from imports, the report said. 

That’s largely due to the higher Canadian dollar.  

Canadian wine makers are facing pressure from traditional wine powers such as France and the U.S., but also newcomers such as Australia and Argentina.

Last year, domestic wineries exported about 4 per cent of their total product. That’s down from 15 per cent in 2001. 

The U.S. is the largest foreign market for Canadian wines. It took more than 40 per cent of all exports in 2010, followed by China with about 20 per cent.