Accolade on acquisition trail in China in effort to sidestep punitive tariffs
Australian winemaking giant Accolade is reportedly on the acquisition trail in China, in an effort to sidestep the punitive tariffs imposed on its wine exports to the Asian country.
Accolade, which is the world’s third largest winemaker, is said to be eyeing up vineyards in the northwestern Qinghai province on the Titetan plateau after a visit there by the company’s China team last month. According to the Qinghai Department of Commerce's website, Accolade plans to make a “strategic investment” in the region's Baojialong Winery to “jointly promote brand promotion and expand production scale.” However, this has been flatly denied by the company which claimed the trip was purely a business trip to learn more about local wineries in China.
“We are not planning to invest in partnership with the Chinese winery,” the company’s PR manager for Asia Adrian Liu told Vino Joy News. However, Accolade has admitted it is looking into other opportunities for collaboration within China.
And it is not the only Australian company looking for ways to overcome the crippling tariffs on their exports to China, which has rendered the market unviable for the vast majority of producers. TWE for one has said it is looking into the possibility of building a production site in China, and last month was in the country’s premier wine producing region Ningxia on a scouting visit.
Since China announced the anti-dumping tariffs of up to 218% late last year, Australian wine shipments crashed by over 95% between December to March