The Australian wine sector – defined as winegrape growing, winemaking and wine-related tourism:
- supports 172,736 full- and part-time jobs, most of which are located in regional Australia.
- contributes $40.2 billion to the value of gross output to the Australian economy. Gross output includes $19.7 billion in value (value-added or the difference between the cost of goods and their sale price) and $10.4 billion in wages and salaries from full- and part-time employment. These figures do not capture margins on wine sales through wholesale, retail and restaurant sales.
Andreas Clark, CEO of Wine Australia, welcomed the clear evidence of the wine sector's contribution to the Australian economy.
"Wine is a unique, high-quality product created in Australia’s 65 wine regions by highly skilled winegrape growers and winemakers. We welcome the recognition of the wine sector’s contribution to the Australian economy", he said.
"The wine sector brings together agriculture, sophisticated production and tourism. It is pleasing to see that wine-related tourism accounts for 15.8 million domestic visitor nights and 44.2 million international visitor nights. An integral part of Australia’s tourist offering, wine-related tourism contributes $9.2 billion to the economy."
The report, 'Economic Contribution of the Australian Wine Sector' by AgEconPlus and Gillespie Economics, shows direct employment in the wine sector of 68,395 full- and part-time jobs and a further 104,341 indirect full- and part-time jobs.
Income from both direct and flow-on employment in the wine sector totals $10.4 billion. Importantly, the report also includes the average effects of a contraction or expansion within the wine sector, suggesting:
- the wider economy would gain an extra 1.53 jobs for every job gained in the wine sector.
- the economy would gain an extra $2.01 million for every additional $1 million of gross output generated by the wine sector.
- the economy would gain an extra $2.17 million in contribution to value-added for every additional $1 million of value-added generated by the wine sector.
