Wine businesses building their exports will benefit from a federal funding boost.
The Federal Government added $500,000 to its Wine Export Grants program, taking the funding pool to $1.5 million.
This followed high demand for the grants of up to $25,000, which are available for small and medium wine producers to reimburse 50 per cent of specific export promotion expenses.
Wine Australia CEO Andreas Clark said the boost was welcome news for wine producers.
“Since the grants opened on 2 January 2018, we’ve approved more than $500,000 of funding for participation in international tradeshows, and a high volume of claims is currently undergoing assessment,” he said.
“This funding boost means more support for wine businesses looking to grow their exports, or secure new distribution channels, in the key markets of China and the USA.”
The grants are a key component of the Federal Government’s $50 million Export and Regional Wine Support Package, which aims to drive demand for wine exports and showcase the nation’s wine tourism.
Agriculture and Water Resources Minister David Littleproud said the extra money would make it easier to sell Australian wine to the country’s largest trading partners.
“Aussie wine is among the best and we want China and the US to know about it,” he said.
“This will help our top wine producers jump export hurdles in both countries.
“Our wine exports are worth more than any time in the past decade.
“We expect exports to China and the US to keep growing and these grants will keep us competitive.”
