Wine industry ‘on its knees’ after Black Saturday
Wine industry ‘on its knees’ after Black Saturday
01 April 2010
published by www.abc.net.au
Australia — A new study has found the Black Saturday bushfires have cost the Victorian wine industry more than $368-million.
The research by the Victorian Wine Industry Association found fire and smoke damage has caused a huge drop in wine and grape sales, with some vineyards being forced to throw out entire crops.
The chief executive Joanne Butterworth-Gray says it is a crippling blow.
She said it is a double blow after fires in 2007.
“The loss there was in the order of $299-million and then we had the fires in 2003 so it’s the cumulative impact of those fires,” she said.
“Then of course on top of that, we had the global financial crisis. You know, this industry is really just about on its knees.”
