Smaller grape crop might help price
A survey showed 269,000 metric tonnes of grapes had been harvested, down from 328,000 tonnes in 2011. The 18% decline was caused by the cool spring and summer.
While the 2012 vintage was very similar in size to 2010, the reduced crop would introduce a new tension to the sector's supply/demand balance, given the sales growth in the past two years, New Zealand Wine chief executive Philip Gregan said.
"As a result it is very clear the focus in the next year will be on value rather than volume growth," he said.
The Californian wine industry was also constrained by a shortage of grapes after growers stopped planting vines due to price erosion. That was likely to help prices in New Zealand, Mr Gregan said.
While supply from the 2012 harvest was down, demand from export markets continued to rise, Rabobank's June agribusiness review said.
Over the 12 months to April 2012, shipment volumes to Australia (up 16% year-on-year) and the United States (up 21%) increased strongly.
Average pricing had remained steady, whereas shipment volumes to the UK (up 15%) and Canada (no change) had experienced a steady decline in average FOB price per litre.
The value of exports in the year to March 2012 was 8.2% higher than 12 months earlier at FOB $1.169 million, the report said.
There was a noticeable increase in sales activity in the viticulture property market sector in Marlborough, Real Estate Institute of New Zealand rural market spokesman Brian Peacocke said.
Ian Fyfe, from Mark Stevenson First National Real Estate, said vineyard and land development values halved in Marlborough since the 2008 harvest and there had been forced sales, but the market for vineyards was more buoyant.
"Demand for wine is exceeding supply and this looks set to continue. Pricing for the fruit is still lagging behind this demand, but expectations for improved returns are positive and the harvest restrictions have been relaxed," Mr Fyfe said.