Australian Wine Gets Caught In Chinese Bottleneck

Australia's trade minister said on Wednesday that weeks of delays at the mainland ports of Australian wine exports were an "irritation" in a bilateral trade relationship that was thriving despite diplomatic tensions.

Australian wine and beef industry representatives are pressuring the government to patch up diplomatic differences with Beijing that the industries fear are impacting on exports to the mainland, Australia's most important trading partner. Australia sees the major strain as its plan to ban covert foreign interference in domestic politics.

Australia-based Treasury Wine Estates, one of the world's largest wine companies, told the Australian Securities Exchange last month that its wine was being delayed while going through Chinese customs.

Trade Minister Steven Ciobo said on Wednesday he had taken up the company's complaint with Chinese authorities during a recent visit to Shanghai and had had "a high degree of success."

Ciobo did not reveal how much of the wine backlog had been allowed off the Chinese docks, saying that was commercially sensitive information.

"Where we do see an irritation, we work in a constructive way to overcome that," Ciobo told Australia's National Press Club.

"I'm not papering over where there's challenges, but it is also critical that we don't lose sight of the bigger picture here which is a trade-investment relationship that is very strong, very broad and very deep," he added.

Australian wine exports to China are booming since a bilateral free trade agreement took effect in December 2015.

Wine exports have climbed from A$211 million annually three years ago to more than AU$1 billion – almost double the value of exports to Australia's next biggest customer, the United States.

Winemakers' Federation of Australia chief executive Tony Battaglene said several of Australia's larger wine exporters had experienced the same problems with Chinese customs as Treasury Wine Estates.

"Certainly we've seen improvement of these issues at the border since the visit of Ciobo. Hopefully things are going to get back to normal," Battaglene said.

The holdups were caused by Chines customs officials making more inspections in search of country-of-origin certificates that entitle Australian wine to preferential tariff treatment under the free trade deal. (AP)