Aussie labels push French wines off the list in China

AUSTRALIAN wines are beating the French at the premium end of the rapidly growing Chinese market, according to Wine Australia chairman George Wahby.

Speaking at the export marketing body's annual general meeting in Sydney yesterday, Mr Wahby said surging demand from China had made it the biggest buyer of bottled wine selling for more than $7.50 a litre.

"The average value per litre of Australian bottled imports to China is now for the first time higher than the average for French wines," he said.

The achievement suggests high-quality Australian wines are winning the perception battle in China, the fastest-growing wine market in the world, where the French are the biggest source of imports and widely viewed as inherently superior.

Meanwhile a number of "green shoots" were giving rise to cautious optimism in the industry, including reports of that the global wine industry was moving from oversupply to shortage as weather damage to grapes in France and Argentina cuts production to a 37-year low.

"This presents an opportunity for Australia," where inventory levels were also moving from surplus towards a balanced position, Mr Wahby said. "While further alignment of industry's supply to sustainable demand opportunities is required to achieve profitability, there's been a significant improvement in the last 18 months."

The average price of wine sold for export increased by 4 per cent over the past 12 months.

Mr Wahby said Australian wine was also making headway in its biggest market, Britain, where it remained the biggest importer in both volume and value terms, and managed more than 10 per cent growth in wines selling for more than pound stg. 7 a bottle.

Australian wine suffered in Britain in recent years as supermarket retailers constantly pushed prices lower.

Wine Australia chief executive Andrew Cheesman said a new partnership with Tourism Australia had been formed to promote winemaking regions for overaseas tourists.