Winemakers laud lucrative TPP deal

James Medina

Hawke's Bay winemakers are toasting the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement as it is set to unleash a huge rise in international wine sales.

Hawke's Bay Wine chief executive James Medina said the region's industry was full of praise for the deal between New Zealand and 11 other countries being done and expected sales to "catapult" in its wake.

Mr Medina said it was a double win in that he believed it would not only facilitate burgeoning wine exports worth millions of dollars but also provide another platform to draw in greater tourist numbers.

"The industry as a whole will benefit and potentially this could mean millions of dollars' worth of exports for Hawke's Bay, as New Zealand's second largest wine region," he said.

"Our understanding of the TPP agreement is that it paves the way for tariffs to effectively be removed, dependant on individual markets - although some countries may take longer than others."

Mr Medina pointed to the US, Japan and Canada as the countries that could provide the most lucrative partnerships, predominantly due to their market size. But there was a lot of market potential in the east given Hawke's Bay had already forged strong wine trade links with the growing China market.

Malaysia and Singapore would now likely become strong targets for wine exports.

"We anticipate this will bring greater interest in our world-class chardonnay, merlot, cabernet and syrah, given the accolades they are constantly picking up on the international stage," he said.

"That could result in exports worth many millions, and the flow on from that will be more international tourists wanting to experience the region where these wines originate."

He said the waiving of tariffs in the agreement would not be to the detriment of the domestic market.

"We still need to remain competitive against international wines being imported into the local arena, and there will be wineries that are not export-focused or export ready, who will protect domestic consumption."

Wine is New Zealand's sixth largest export, at a value of $1.46 billion.

Prior to the TPP signing, the sector was aiming to take that to $2 billion by 2020.