wine, an industry which significantly relies on exports to the UK. The European nation is New Zealand’s second-largest export market for the beverage, with exports valued at over $400 million over the past year.
The agreement was celebrated the Yealands Wine Group, based in New Zealand’s Marlborough wine region, which in looking forward to a $1.2 million boost per year once the deal comes into effect. According to the company’s chief executive Tiffani Graydon, this is “fantastic news” since any deduction in tariffs would be welcome by the winery. “New Zealand sauvignon blanc is very popular in the UK, and it was one of the earliest market to adopt a passion and a love for New Zealand wines,” she added.
Yealands’ key export markets include the UK and the US, with the former accounting for about a quarter of the company’s business, supplies 2.5 million litres of wine to the European nation each year. For every 100 litres exported, wineries in the Trans-Tasman nation have been facing a tariff of $50, which means the new free trade deal would save more than $1.2 million per year for Yealands.
Graydon further noted that it is yet to determine how much of these savings will flow through to the consumer. “I am sure that some of that will, whether we reinvest that into marketing the brands or into our distribution channels,” she said. “Because we are not selling direct to consumers in the UK, we go via our distributor, then there are some conversations that we need to have around that.
According to Yealands’ CEO, the goal is to get the company’s quality wine into the hands of as many British consumers as possible, and therefore hopes to reinvest to that if possible.
