MIA wineries anxious for next steps but celebrate lift on tariffs

Toorak Wines winemaker Robert Bruno has welcomed the removal but is eager to know more about the next steps in a zoom meeting with Wine Australia.

"It's hard to say how things will come about now," Mr Bruno said.

"My customers say they are still waiting on the government to confirm how the tariffs will be dropped exactly.

"There will be a meeting via Zoom on April 4 where we are all hoping to learn more about this," he said.

"What needs to be remembered is that there is still a significant glut and a relationship with China to be reaffirmed.

"There's still a lot of questions about how the market will come back from this, especially as other countries have been able to build their markets and get more product to China in the meantime," he said.

Recently Riverina Winegrape Growers CEO Jeremy Cass welcomed the announcement of a possible lift on tariffs but was hoping it wouldn't hinder other plans of establishing a task force to address the glut.

The tariffs, introduced in 2020, were abolished last week when the Commerce Ministry in Beijing revealed they were "no longer necessary" following a review in October.

Exporting wine to mainland China was a growing industry worth more than $1.1 billion at the end of 2019, when Australia sent more than 135 million litres.

But it dropped to about 1.4 million litres, worth just over $10 million at the end of 2023, according to Wine Australia's export data.

Sales and marketing director of the Calabria Family Wine Group, Andrew Calabria, has expressed enthusiasm over the lift.

"This is a significant development for the Australian wine industry," Mr Calabria said.

"The removal of tariffs signifies an important milestone that will reignite trade relations and foster growth within our industry.

"As an Australian wine producer, we understand the immense challenges faced by our industry due to the imposed tariffs," he said.

"The past three years have shown the resilience and adaptability of our Australian winemakers, who have navigated the challenging market conditions."

With the removal of tariff barriers, the Calabria Family Wine Group anticipates a renewed opportunity to showcase their portfolio of Australian products to the Chinese markets.

"We look forward to once again delivering exceptional Australian wines to our valued customers and rebuilding trust in this significant market," he said.

"We would like to thank the Australian government and industry stakeholders for their efforts in achieving this welcomed outcome."

In South Australia, premier Peter Malinauskas has announced a $1.85 million support package, including marketing, advisory and technical assistance, to help the state's winemakers return exports to their pre-tariff peaks.