A $109 million South Australian Government support package will provide loans, vineyard transition assistance and market development funding as the state’s grape and wine sector responds to ongoing industry pressures.
Australian Grape & Wine has welcomed the package, while calling for similar support to be made available to grape growers and winemakers nationally.
The SA Wine Industry Transition and Growth Package includes $100 million in government-backed loans to support vineyard transition.
Other measures include $1 million for vineyard transition and diversification support, $2 million to develop solutions for the disposal of CCA-treated timber posts and $500,000 to develop industry-led responses to surplus wine inventories.
A further $5 million will extend and expand the Global Wine Growth Program for two years, while $675,000 has been allocated to an advertising campaign promoting South Australian food and wine.
The package also provides for appointing a Wine Industry Coordinator to work with industry and government during the transition.
Australian Grape & Wine Chief Executive Lee McLean said the measures addressed a number of the challenges the organisation had been raising with governments.
“This is a significant and very welcome commitment to an industry undergoing an incredibly difficult period of structural adjustment,” Mr McLean said.
He said South Australia accounted for around half of Australia’s winegrapes and half of its bottled wine production, meaning the package would have a significant impact on the sector.
Australian Grape & Wine is also calling on the Australian Government to work with state governments to provide equivalent assistance to growers and winemakers elsewhere in Australia.
“The challenges facing our sector do not stop at the South Australian border,” Mr McLean said.
“The other half of Australia’s grape growers and winemakers are facing many of the same pressures and are equally deserving of support.”
Australian Grape & Wine said it wants a coordinated national response to the structural challenges facing the grape and wine sector.
