LOCALLY produced premium wine trade and demand in international markets will continue to be improved and diversified thanks to a federal government grant.

The $1.817m Agricultural Trade and Market Access Co-operation (ATMAC) grant was awarded to Australian Grape & Wine.

The funding would build on the successes already achieved by Australian Grape & Wine in expanding export market opportunities in Japan and South Korea, according to Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia David Littleproud.

“Australian wine is recognised among the best in the world – expanding our markets will see demand for our premium product grow across the globe,” Mr Littleproud said.

“The funding will help to improve market access, tackle trade barriers and generate growth in key target export markets including established markets such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and new and emerging markets across Southeast Asia, India and Scandinavia.

“The benefits go beyond the wine sector, driving jobs and growth across regional Australia and helping contribute to our goal of increasing the value of Australian agriculture to $100 billion by 2030.”

Australian Grape & Wine CEO Tony Battaglene said three key pillars of work to improve trade and grow demand for Australian wine exports would be the focus of the funding.

“We’re going to build consumer understanding of Australian wine through expanding promotion; improving trade and market access; and initiating a long-term strategic collaboration with India to enable the future potential of that market to be realised and support broader trade relations,” he said.

Wine Australia will partner with Australian Grape & Wine, and the work will also utilise the expertise of Austrade and the federal government’s agricultural counsellors.

Through ATMAC, a component of the federal government’s Agri-Business Expansion Initiative (ABEI), $19m in grant funding has been committed.

The federal government has invested almost $86m through ABEI to help Australia’s agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries to diversify and expand their export markets.

An initial ATMAC grant of $998,000 was awarded to Australian Grape & Wine in June 2021, which included the establishment of a long-term strategic plan to capitalise on opportunities to grow trade in international markets.