NEWS
AUSSIE GOV'T APPOINTS COUNTRY MANAGERS IN JAPAN & KOREA TO BOOST WINE EXPORTS
By Susan Lewis
18-10-2022
Credit: Joey Csunyo/Unsplash
The Australian government has created two new country manager roles for Japan and South Korea in a latest attempt to boost wine exports to these two major Asian markets.
As a joint effort by Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), Wine Australia and Australian Grape and Wine, the initiative is funded by the Australian government’s agricultural trade and market access cooperation program.
Former Pernod Ricard Japan brand ambassador, Rosemary Macdonald, was appointed country manager for Japan, while wine journalist, Suzie Chung, was appointed country manager for South Korea.
“This is an exciting new opportunity for the industry, bringing together exporters, importers, wine experts and buyers to increase sales of Australian wine in supermarkets, restaurants and homes across Korea and Japan,” said Don Farrell, Australian minister for trade and tourism.
“I know from personal experience it has been a difficult time for Australia's wine industry. The growing demand in markets like Japan and Korea gives us real reason to be optimistic about the future,” Farrell added.
Both Wine Australia and Australian Grape and Wine welcomed the appointments of the newly created roles.
“These new roles demonstrate our commitment in supporting Australian wineries to diversify and intensify exports during a really challenging time,” said Martin Cole, CEO of Wine Australia.
“Ms MacDonald and Ms Chung will be vitally important resources in two key markets that have been pinpointed for growth of Australian wine exports,” said Tony Battaglene, CEO of Australian Grape & Wine.
Japan and South Korea are two key export destinations for Australian wines, currently sitting at eighth and eleventh largest export markets by value respectively, and both have opportunities for growth.
The Australian wine industry has suffered severely from the punitive tariffs imposed by China which has long been its biggest export market. Australian wine’s China export value slumped from AUD1.1 billion to just AUD24 million at end of March this year.
Australian wine exporters are working very hard to explore new markets to diversify their export destinations.
(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)
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