Widening gap between the two as wine imports from New World countries surge ahead of Old World..

100 regional VIP wine buyers to be flown down; major buyers coming with budgets of up to $1m each; online business matching programme and Rest and Relax package tours offered to buyers

A phenomenal increase in imports of wines from New World countries into Singapore over the past five years has created a huge gap with wines imported from the Old World countries.

According to latest statistics from International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore), the combined import of still wines in containers less than 2 litres from Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, USA and Canada – which represent the bulk of New World wine-producing countries – reached 6.65 million litres in 2005. That from France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal and Austria reached 4.34 million litres. In 2001, import of wine from the New World totalled 3.65 million litres, trailing that of the Old World which brought 3.83 million litres.

Chart 1: Import Volume of Still Wine (in litres) in container less than 2 litres

Between 2001 and 2005, the import of wines from the seven New World countries mentioned earlier grew by 82% compared with a 13% growth in wines from the six Old World countries.  The fastest growth in import of New World wines came from New Zealand, imports from which jumped 292%, followed by Argentina (268%) and Chile (104%).

Imports from France, a traditional mainstay of Old World wines, grew by 10%, while those from Spain grew by 99% and from Germany, by 61%.


Chart 2: Import Value of Still Wine (in $) in container less than 2 litres

The figures were released today at the media launch of Wine for Asia 2006 (WFA2006), the region's largest wine show.  To be held at the Singapore Expo from 2-4 November, WFA2006 is a one-stop shopping ground for wine buyers and is expected to attract 450 International & local wine exhibitors, 15,000 regional and local visitors and trade buyers from 40 different countries.

The difference in import values between the Old World and New World has also narrowed. It was $19.26 million in 2001 but was reduced to $10.79 million in 2005. However, the old world continues to lead in terms of import value. The value per litre of imported wine from the Old World was $14.24 in 2001 compared to $9.66 from the New World. In 2005, the import value per litre from the Old World surged ahead to $18.56 compared to $10.48 from the New World.

"There is more to it than just looking at statistics," said Mr Malcolm Tham from Wine Resources Pte Ltd, co-organiser of Wine for Asia, with Singex Exhibitions.  For this year, Wine For Asia has chosen a very controversial theme "Old World – New World: Convergence or Divergence?".  Mr Tham added: "The objective of choosing this theme is two-fold. First, we would like to create awareness on wine style developments both in the Old World and New World countries. Second, we would like to gauge the preferences of Asian drinkers in terms of choice of wine styles."

To gauge the preference for wine styles, all visitors to Wine for Asia 2006 will be asked to taste sets of 2 styles of wines. The chosen wines will be of similar vintage, grape varieties and alcohol content but differ in term of styles – the first will be more fruit driven while the second will have more complex flavours. After tasting the wines, the visitors will state their preferences. The results will be shown live on each exhibition day.

The exhibition will be spread over 10,000 sqm. There will be 16 country pavilions representing Italy, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Germany, Romania, Portugal, Spain, France, Chile, Mexico, Venezuela, India, China and Singapore.

There has been an increased interest by wineries from South America in the Asian market. For the first time, WFA will see new wine representations from Venezuela and Mexico.

There have also been increases in size of participation from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Italy, Argentina, France and Germany, further reinstating the growing importance of WFA as a key marketing platform for international wineries in Asia.

WFA2006 has been more intensively marketed by the organisers.  They have spent close to a quarter million dollars to fly down 100 VIP regional buyers, hold road shows and subsidise the first professional International Wine Import course for regional and local wine importers.  The road shows were held in France, Germany and South Africa and via appointed agents in Australia, New Zealand and in Latin America, including Chile and Argentina.

Said Mr Steven Chwee, WFA2006 project manager: "WFA targets the Asian wine markets and hence our VIP buyer programme targets key wine buyers from Asia's emerging wine markets such as China, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, and India. We have been working closely with wine importer associations, wine societies, sommelier associations, F&B associations across Asia to identify these key buyers and invite them to be part of our programme."

A survey of buyers indicates that they are coming with shopping budgets of up to $1m to WFA, which has developed into a one-stop wine-shopping venue.

For the first time, an online business matching programme has been launched to enable exhibitors and buyers to interact with one another prior to the show.

Key buyers will have access to guided master tastings at the show, participate in industry conferences and forums and play host to exhibitors during a "Buyers-host-sellers Networking Night".  And, they can take advantage of a special Rest And Relax programme, will offering them package tours to Bintan, Bali, Phuket and Bangkok after WFA2006.

To launch this year's event, Wine For Asia is holding a "Wine Waiter Dash" at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel.  Representatives from various F&B outlets will take part in it in a spirit of friendly competition. Each participant will carry a bottle of wine and two wine glasses and run a full 100m before opening the wines and pour them into the glasses. The wines chosen for the race come from both New World and Old World countries.