WELLINGTON, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Exports of New Zealand wines hit a new record in the year to the end of June, as wineries saw a bumper grape harvest, the New Zealand Winegrowers industry group announced Thursday.
Both export volumes and values rose by 10 percent, with overseas sales reaping a record 1.33 billion NZ dollars (1.11 billion U.S. dollars), according to the group's annual report.
New Zealand Winegrowers chair Steve Green said the industry had bounced back from supply constraints of the 2012 vintage with a harvest of 445,000 tones of grapes this year.
"The 2014 harvest may seem like a drop in the ocean compared to major producers, but it was a record for New Zealand and signals the drive for export growth in the year ahead," Green said in a statement on the annual report.
Strong sales and forecast demand had given growers and wineries the confidence to invest in vineyard and infrastructure development, but Green cautioned against any drop in standards to meet demand.
"Consistently meeting consumer expectations for premium New Zealand wines will take us a long way. Being the most sought after and highly valued must be our aspiration to ensure a bright future, " he said.
The report showed sales up in all the industry's growth markets in western Europe and North America, but exports to the Chinese mainland were down 8 percent to 24.8 million NZ dollars (20.77 million U.S. dollars) and exports to Hong Kong dropped 18 percent to 16.9 million NZ dollars (14.15 million U.S. dollars).
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