The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) sees a more encouraging outlook for the wine industry beyond 2012, as the economies of major markets such as Britain and the US recover.
In its latest Situation and Outlook report, released this week, MAF says the average export price of wine has fallen by almost a quarter in the past three years, due to oversupply and the fall in demand during the global recession.
The income squeeze has led to an increase in wine industry receiverships and mortgagee sales in the past year.
MAF says New Zealand has the capacity to meet a steadily growing demand for premium bottled wine as it builds up again. But it also says a marked increase in bulk wine exports is expected to continue.
