Australia and Taiwan are the most promising Pacific Ocean markets for Italian wine and olive oil exports. 2014, in particular, was a golden year for two of Italy’s leading agro-food products. Wine imports in Australia came to 8.5 million litres worth 35.4 million euros, with Italy in third place after New Zealand and France. Taiwan, on the other hand, last year saw a boom in sales of extra virgin olive oil, which doubled to 17 million euros.
This emerged from two business focus meetings held during Vinitaly and Sol&Agrifood – the two shows dedicated to quality wine and agro-foods that, after four days, closes today at Veronafiere.
The Melbourne Chamber of Commerce has outlined Australia’s wine identikit – one of the countries with the highest per capita wine consumption, totalling 29.1 litters per year. Yet typical wine consumers are also much more aware of quality and seek fine wines, making more and more purchases on-line.
There is also considerable interest in the organic sector, considered as an added value by 91% of Australians. The organic phenomenon is better understood by mentioning that domestic production of grapes with natural methods has increased by 120% in three years. Another important aspect, lastly, is the cultural affinity factor, considering that nearly 5% of Australians boast Italian origins.
Having overcome the problem posed by stringent customs and quarantine regulations as well as special labelling requirements for alcoholic beverages, the potential for Italian wines as regards significant expansion of imports on this market is very interesting. So much so that, as early as 2014, Veronafiere and Vinitaly International took part in the “Italian wine meets Australia” event in Melbourne to promote “Made in Italy” wine production, while this year’s Vinitaly saw an Australian business delegation attend b2b meetings in the International Buyers’ Lounge.
From wine to olive oil. Here, the “Exporting olive oil and food to Taiwan” workshop organized by ICE-Italian Trade Agency, Unaprol and Sol&Agrifood, highlighted that cuisine in Taiwan has discovered and is enjoying Italian extra virgin olive oil, with imports growing by 100% between 2013 and 2014, thanks not the least to the complete absence of duties. In Taiwan, Italy today holds 58% of the market, ahead of Greece, the second supplier with a market share of just 18%. These figures demonstrate the competitive advantage of product quality and reliability, as guaranteed by Italian origin.
