Joint Media Release
23 January 2007
Australian Government Minister for Trade, Warren Truss
Australian Government Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Peter McGauran
Australia Signs the World Wine Trade Group Agreement on Wine Labelling
Australia's wine industry is set to become even more competitive following today's signing of the World Wine Trade Group's Agreement on Requirements for Wine Labelling.
The Treaty was signed by the Australian Government Minister for Trade, Warren Truss, and by representatives from 'new world' wine producing countries including the USA, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand and Canada. These countries, whose common goal is to boost international trade in wine, make up the World Wine Trade Group (WWTG) which is meeting in Canberra this week.
The Treaty standardises the presentation of certain information on wine labels such as product designation, content volume, percentage of alcohol and country of origin. In future, when a product is to be sold in several markets, winemakers and exporters will no longer have to attach a different front label for each destination.
Mr Truss said the Australian wine industry estimates that the implementation of the Treaty's requirements for wine labelling would mean savings of about $25 million each year.
"Not only will production costs for Australian wine growers be reduced but it will become easier to promote our wines and expand into new markets," Mr Truss said.
Australian Government Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Peter McGauran said the Treaty was a significant achievement for the WWTG.
"This simple concept, which cuts costs and increases market access, is very good news for our grape and wine producers and the 30,000 Australians employed within our wine industry," Mr McGauran said.
Exports to WWTG member nations account for 47 per cent ($1.2 billion) of Australia's wine exports. The uniform labelling system will make it easier for Australian consumers to readily access wine information.
Media inquiries:
Mr Truss' Office (Kylie Butler) 02 6277 7420
Mr McGauran's Office (Ben Houston) 02 6277 7520
DFAT07/005WT
Background Information
World Wine Trade Group (WWTG) Agreement on Requirements for Wine Labelling
(The Agreement was signed at 7.00pm, Tuesday 23 January 2007)
Australia is a member of the WWTG which was established in 1998. The WWTG is an association of national representatives of wine-producing countries interested in facilitating the international trade in wine. Membership of the WWTG includes government officials and industry representatives from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, New Zealand and the United States of America. Mexico is an observer.
The primary objective of the Agreement is to provide flexibility to labelling requirements that will allow individual wine producers to develop a common label acceptable in all WWTG markets and in all major wine markets of the world. To this end, WWTG members have agreed to a "single field of vision" approach to wine labelling, whereby four key common mandatory items of information (product designation, content volume, percentage alcohol and country of origin) are deemed to comply with domestic labelling requirements if they are presented together in any single field of vision.
The Winemakers' Federation of Australia and the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation have actively supported the negotiations of the WWTG Wine Labelling Agreement. Industry estimates show the 'single field of vision' approach could save approximately $25 million in labelling costs, helping to increase the competitiveness, volume and value of Australian wine exports. The WWTG markets alone accounted for up to 47 per cent of Australia's wine exports in 2003-04, with sales of bottled wine to WWTG markets worth $1.21 billion.
The process of bringing the Agreement into force will include tabling the Agreement in Parliament and adjusting domestic labelling requirements for wine. An amendment to the States and Territories regulation on wine labelling will be required to implement the Agreement.