New Zealand Wine Market Is Nearing Saturation Point

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 80, 9 August 1950, Page 3

New Zealand Wine Market Is Nearing Saturation Point

Recording the production in New Zealand of nearly 700,000 gallons of wine in 1949, the annual report of the Department of Agriculture expresses the opinion that, with annual importations amounting to more than 200,000 gallons, the existing Dominion market for wine ap-

pears to be approaching saturation. Prices paid for local wines in bulk particuluarly have fallen appreciably in the past two years. Winemakers report accumulated stocks and difficult ti%ding conditions. ‘‘The estimated consumption of wine per head of population is about half a gallon,” says the report. “In Australia the consumption per head is more than three times this figure and in other winemak-

ing countries the figures are much higher. It would appear that there is still a big latent market for wine in the Dominion which could be developed by an overall improvement in the quality of New Zealand wines, a lowering of cost to the public, and active sales-promotion methods by the industry. It is regrettable that the lighter beverage wines which the country is better adapted to produce do not appeal to the palate of the general public. “To meet the competitive trading position a number of smaller winemakers have formed a co-operative selling organisation in Auckland. Wines will be selected for quality, blended to maintain a uniform standard, and sold under the cooperative’s label. Selling and advertising costs and profits will be shar-

ed. Such or similar organisations to stabilise the industry seems to be a move' in the right direction. In South Africa the wine industry is mostly organised on a co-operative basis.”

Of the 240,000 manufacturing concerns in the United States, only 504 employ more than 2,500 persons each. f xxx

More than 1,500,000 persons in the United States are in automotive sales and servicing jobs, such as local dealerships, accessories stores, repair garages, and gasoline stations.