Louise Ray
abc.net.au

For growers of wine grapes in north west Victoria things can only get better, according to the head of the Murray Valley Winegrowers, Mark McKenzie. A report released by the Victorian Department of Primary Industries (DPI) shows the estimated value of the total grape crush for the Murray Darling and Swan Hill regions dropped by 31 per cent between 2009 and 2010.

The value of this year's crush was estimated at $96.31 million. That's $42.27 million less income to the region compared to the previous year's harvest.

The quantity of grapes crushed decreased by 47,176 tonnes compared with the 2009 harvest. That includes a drop in the red wine grape crush of 15 per cent, from 163,022 tonnes in 2009 to 139,030 tonnes in 2010, while white wine grapes fell by 11 per cent, from 212,300 tonnes to 189,117 tonnes.

"To be quite frank we're scraping the barrel in terms of financial returns to growers. We came from a high in 2005 of farm gate returns to growers of almost $200 million dollars ... now down to 80.

"You can see the enormous amount of revenue that's been stripped out of the pockets of growers locally," says Mark McKenzie.

"It's almost $250 million dollars less that's flowing through the local businesses.

"It'll be a slow improvement in 2011, that's certainly the hope of the industry."

The purchased value of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Petit Verdot all fell by around $100 per tonne, while Merlot, Chardonnay, Muscat Gordo Blanco and Riesling fell between approximately $70 and $80 per tonne.

The information contained in the Murray Darling/Swan Hill Wine Grape Crush Survey for 2010, conducted by DPI on behalf of the Murray Valley Wine Grape Industry Advisory Committee, is collated from figures provided by wineries that sourced fruit from the Murray Darling and Swan Hill regions in the 2010 vintage.

"There are some glimmers of hope starting to show up," says McKenzie.

He believes there's likely to be more demand than supply in the region for some varieties, and that is likely to drive some prices up.

Even if the rises are small, they will at least indicate a change in sentiment for the local wine grape industry.

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