NZ: 2013 Wine Harvest Breaks Records

(Farmingshow) - The New Zealand wine harvest posted a new record of 345,000 tonnes for the 2013 season, which ended in May, according to Rabobank's Wine Quarterly report.

This marks an increase of 28.5 per cent on the very short 2012 crop and was 5 per cent higher than the prior record, set in 2011, Rabobank said.

Low carryover stock levels have meant that export of 2013 sauvignon blanc have already started with improved momentum, it said.

Rabobank senior analyst Marc Soccio said the New Zealand wine industry was on a stronger footing to deal with the rebound in supply now that the local category was well established in key markets around the world.

The bank, which specialises in financial services for the food and agribusiness sector, said wine grape production in the southern hemisphere appeared to have been healthy.

"Nearly all major southern supply countries are set to register above-average crops for 2013; with Chile and South Africa also expected to harvest record crops, and Australia to record its largest harvest in five years," he said in the report.

New Zealand wine export volumes declined by 8 per cent in the first four months of the year as exporters waited for larger volumes from the 2013 vintage to come on-stream.

The value of trade fell more gently by 1.1 per cent as significantly less wine was shipped in bulk format over the period.

Soccio said the recent decline of the New Zealand dollar against the US dollar had buoyed the hopes of wine exporters. "