A leading wine economics expert is urging Australian growers of non‑premium red grape varieties to consider uprooting their vineyards and exiting the industry as the sector continues to face global oversupply pressures.
Professor Kym Anderson has been at the Australasian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society Conference in Adelaide this week. The event will also launch an updated global winegrape database, which shows Australia is lagging behind other producing regions in adapting to climate shifts, macroeconomic conditions and changing consumer preferences.
Professor Anderson said Australian growers have become less diversified in recent years, maintaining a strong focus on red varieties despite the accumulation of excess red wine stocks worldwide.
“While wine consumers, especially in Australia, have never had it so good with an ever‑widening range of wines at record low prices, many vignerons are struggling to make a profit,” he said.
He warned that declining global alcohol consumption, tariff shocks and subsidised competition are adding to the challenges, while slow adaptation and climate pressures are creating further strain at home. With oversupply expected to persist, he said the least‑profitable growers of low‑quality grapes should consider leaving the industry, and that non‑premium red vines should be uprooted rather than mothballed.
