OPINION: How and why China disappeared as an export market for Australian wine

The second installation of a two-part opinion piece by Edward Cavanagh that concludes a cautionary tale: understanding what motivated China to adopt the position it did in relation to Australia, and how the subsequent fight played out, should dampen any optimism about the re-emergence of the Chinese market for the wine industry. In 2019, China was Australia’s largest trading partner, representing more than a quarter of its total trade balance. And Australian wines made up a small but significant chunk of this figure, accounting for over a billion dollars’ worth of exports per year. A great market had opened up. But then a great market would disappear – and the importance of certain positions adopted by the Australian government in this saga should be highlighted, Cavanagh writes.