China-Australia relations: wine is heading to Taiwan and other ‘non-traditional markets’, but Canberra says exports still way down

Value of Australian wine shipments to new destinations is far from matching the A$1 billion (US$748 million) worth of lost annual exports to China

Canberra hopes formal complaint with World Trade Organization will force conversation with Beijing about anti-dumping tariffs, but a resolution could take years

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Australian trade minister Dan Tehan says sales of Australian wine in markets such as the Netherlands and South Korea increased from January to March. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 4:30am, 22 Jun 2021Updated: 5:40am, 22 Jun 2021

Australia’s wine exports to new markets are increasing but nonetheless remain a drop in the ocean compared with the former output to the now-closed Chinese market. And to that end, Canberra is hoping to force a conversation with Beijing about its anti-dumping tariffs on Australian wine, having formally lodged a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Friday.

On Monday, Australian trade minister Dan Tehan said that sales of Australian wine in “non-traditional markets” rose during the first quarter of the year. Exports to the Netherlands, for instance, were up 63 per cent to A$20 million (US$15.1 million) from January to March, while those to South Korea increased 133.6 per cent to A$13.6 million.

Another winery in Tasmania found new markets in Taiwan and sent its first shipment in February, while the establishment of the new Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement – signed last week – should open up more access to wine exporters, Tehan added.

“The Taiwan event has been very good for us,” Moorilla Winery chief winemaker Conor van der Reest said, referring to a virtual wine-tasting in April facilitated by Austrade, the marketing arm of the Australian trade department. “We have sent our first order, another one is in the order stage, and another party is seeking samples.”

But the increase in value of Australian wine shipments to these new markets still has a long way to go before it can match the previous A$1 billion (US$748 million) worth of annual wine sales to China that have been whittled down to about A$20 million since China unofficially restricted such exports last year and imposed anti-dumping duties on Australian wine amid a tense bilateral conflict.