WINEMAKERS Federation of Australia chief executive Stephen Strachan has a simple message for his industry enjoying rising exports to China: "Don't screw it up".
Mr Strachan will address winemakers and grape growers convening in Melbourne today for the first day of the federation's two-day Wine Industry Outlook Conference. He will encourage the industry to avoid repeating its mistakes in the UK, where a rush on exports sent prices tumbling, The Australian Financial Review reports.
"The Chinese market is not going to be the saviour," Mr Strachan said. "It won't save us, but it is a market where long-term prospects are good and it will help us."
China is likely to overtake Canada to become Australia's third biggest wine export market: sales surged 34 per cent in the year to September 30, to 22.3 million litres.
"China sees us as a more premium producer," Mr Strachan said. "We are not perceived as a cheap commodity wine. That is what happened in the UK. I think if we screw it up [Chinese exports], we will have lost a great opportunity. There really is a great opportunity here for brand building."
