Tariffs imposed by the Chinese government on Australian red wine exports look set to expire in March, but one industry expert thinks it will take time for the export market to recover and is urging Aussies to keep buying locally produced red wine.
Lee McLean, chief executive of Australian Grape and Wine, told 9News the Chinese tariffs of 218 per cent on Australian wines has had a huge and lasting impact on local producers.
“That’s an enormous drop for any industry to go through and quite an economic shock,” he said.
“The best thing that consumers here in Australia can do is to get out to a region to go and visit a cellar door, find those ones that you enjoy and maybe try something new,” he said.
“Of course, when you go and visit a region that money doesn’t just sit with the cellar door, it bounces around the region to all those other businesses that support the local community as well.”
In case anyone needed an excuse to buy more Aussie red wine, here it is!