Low prices for white wine grapes could send farmers to the wall

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The price of white wine grapes is expected to drop to some of the lowest of recent years. For growers in Australia’s largest wine grape region, it could be the final blow that forces more farmers to walk off the block.

Transcript

00:00Amanda Demas' family has been growing grapes in Essay's Riverland for almost 70 years.

00:08Times have been tough before, but a forecast price drop for white grapes has made things harder.

00:13We've had below cost of production prices for so many years.

00:17We don't have any more capital left to use.

00:20Whites have just taken a turn for the worse.

00:22In recent years the industry has battled a global oversupply of red wine,

00:26challenging market conditions and high water prices.

00:29Amanda and other Riverland wine representatives have penned a letter

00:33to the state's premier, Peter Malinowskis, calling for an urgent crisis meeting.

00:38I am calling on government to act as soon as possible.

00:42Our growers are asking for leadership, are asking for some support.

00:45Fourth generation Copdogla wine grape grower Peter Arnold

00:49has been slowly pulling out his vines for the past four years.

00:53I don't think I'd ever put another grapevine back in the ground.

00:57It's an industry where you've got no control over your end product unless you've got a winery.

01:03The National Wine Grape Representative Organisation says the issues go beyond the Riverland.

01:08All midland regions across Australia, so they include the Murray Valley, Riverina,

01:13are also seeing similar challenges with white grape prices.

01:16In a statement, a state government spokesperson said the industry's request for support was under consideration.

01:22They said the state and federal governments have spent $15 million on programs to support the wine industry,

01:28including a national wine register and a great production cost calculator.

01:32A call for help from an industry in crisis before it's too late.

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01:46So what are we doing?

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