China’s tariffs on Australian wine have South African exporters raising a glass to burgeoning market presence

Ongoing trade dispute has seen an exodus of Australian wine from China, and a handful of importers ‘have gone completely to South Africa’

The shift has also required ‘a big leap of faith’ for buyers to convince their customers to try wine from an unfamiliar destination

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Red Cabernet grapes are loaded onto a trailer about 25km (5.6 miles) north of Cape Town. Chinese importers are trying to convince their buyers that South African wine is a tasty alternative to Australian wine. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:30am, 23 Oct 2021Updated: 6:48am, 23 Oct 2021

For wine importers like He Lei, the presence of South African wine in China could not have been more different this year compared with last year.

“I feel that South African wine brands are starting to work hard [in China] … just when there’s an exodus of Australian wine because of the trade tariffs,” said He, who runs a wine-importing business from Guangzhou. “Overall, I’d say the reception has been very good. Many of our clients are impressed with the taste and the quality.

“However, the price points are also higher.”

Importers say that South African wine had not, until recently, been widely available and marketed in China, especially compared with wine from Australia, Chile, France and Italy. But an ongoing trade dispute between China and Australia has opened up new opportunities for South Africa’s wine producers, including smaller and boutique brands.

Until late last year, Australian wine dominated the market in China. But that presence suffered a major blow in November 2020 when Australian wine was slapped with anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties of more than 200 per cent, sending costs through the roof and prompting importers to seek alternatives.

You need to have some eureka moments with people to get them to understand that South Africa is a producer of high-quality wine

Marcus Ford, Wines of South Africa

“Some of them have gone completely to South Africa,” said Marcus Ford, Asia market manager for Wines of South Africa, an association that is responsible for promoting the country’s wine across China. “It’s been a big leap of faith for them to persuade their customers.”

Relations between China and Australia soured after Canberra called for an international inquiry into the origin of the coronavirus last year. As a result of the subsequent tariffs, the number of Australian exporters shipping wine to mainland China fell to 750 by the end of September, from 2,241 a year prior, industry group Wine Australia said this week, adding that wine exports to China plunged 77 per cent in the past 12 months.