India wine harvest down this year – opportunity for Australia?

India’s wine grape harvest is well down this year. A spell of unseasonal rain in October and November has spoiled grapes sown in Sangli and Nashik – both are in the State of Maharashtra in the “cooler” areas near the Western Ghats mountain range.

Pictured above – Sula vineyards – dominant Indian wine brand

On average, the state of Maharashtra crushes 20,000 tonnes of grapes and produces 1.2 million litres of wine – this year, however, just 12,000 to 15,000 tonnes of grapes will be crushed, resulting in the production of 700,000 litres of wine.

I first heard about this from the Trade Promotion Council of India who produce terrific information about trade with India – well worth having a look at their website.

But the figures hide another reality – quality will be down.

Commenting on the issue, Mr. Rajesh Jadhav, secretary of All India Wine Production Association, said, “There will be a 25% reduction in wine production and due to poor quality of the fruit, it will be difficult to maintain quality.”

India’s millennials (there are 450 million of them) are drinking wine – not in quantity but definitely chasing quality.

The Australian wine industry has a presence in India but mostly at the lower end – cheaper or good value wines led by Jacobs Creek.

Time for Australian wines to pursue sales channels in India!

Author: Stephen Manallack

Former President, Australia India Business Council, Victoria and Author, You Can Communicate; Riding the Elephant; Soft Skills for a Flat World (published by Tata McGraw-Hill INDIA); Communicating Your Personal Brand. Director, EastWest Academy Pty Ltd and Trainer/Speaker/Mentor in Leadership, Communication and Cross Cultural Communication. Passionate campaigner for closer western relations with India. Stephen Manallack is a specialist on “Doing Business with India” and advisor/trainer on “Cross-Cultural Understanding”. He is a Director of EastWest Academy Pty Ltd which provides strategic advice and counsel regarding business relations with India. A regular speaker in India on leadership and global communication, his most recent speaking tour included a speech to students of the elite Indian university, Amity University, in Noida. He also spoke at a major Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) global summit, the PR Consultants Association of India in Delhi, the Symbiosis University in Pune and Cross-Cultural Training for Sundaram Business Services in Chennai. He has visited India on business missions on 10 occasions and led three major trade missions there. He provides cross-cultural training – Asia and the west. View all posts by Stephen Manallack