The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) report into the economic contribution of the New Zealand wine sector was released in March, showing for the first time just how much the industry provides to the economy, aside from export revenue. Other revenue streams considered were indirect taxes, wages, jobs and the importance to tourism.
Based on figures from 2015, the report shows that the industry employs 7,580 people throughout the country. In Marlborough, that equates to 10.1% of local employment, or an estimated 2,240 workers. The next closest region to Marlborough was Gisborne, where 2% of the total local employment was attributed to wine. In Hawke's Bay it was 1.3% and Central Otago 0.7%.
The estimated wage bill for those 7,580 workers is a grand total of $282 million, up nearly $60 million more on the wage bill of 2012. That is despite the estimated employee numbers dropping between 2012 and 2015.
What will interest wineries is just how much they pay in indirect taxes such as Excise and HPA levies, combined with GST. It probably won't surprise many to find the figure dwarfs the wages bill - given it is $303.6 million. Excise and HPA levies make up $179.6 million of that, with GST contributions estimated at $124 million.
Exports currently sit at $1.536 million, or 209 million litres. That is double what the country exported in 2008 – a year most will remember for large yields and the beginning of the GFC. Currently wine holds the sixth position in terms of export commodities, behind dairy, meat, wood, fruit, and mechanical machinery. It is also the industry with the largest annual growth in export value between 2008 and 2015 – at 7.9%.
In terms of tourism, wineries play a key role. Visiting one is ranked as the 6th most popular activity undertaken in the year ending June 2015, with wine tourists also deemed as being the ones that stay longer in the country, spending more dollars than the rest of the tourists.
The other interesting fact to emerge from the report, is that the number of wineries and growers has declined in the past three years, despite such outstanding growth in all other areas. In 2012, there were 703 wineries, in 2015 that had dropped to 673.
The number of growers in 2012 was 824, in 2015 it was 762.
Both those figures are in direct contradiction to the growth in terms of productive vineyards in New Zealand. They have grown from 33,400 in 2012, to 35,859 last year, with more to come in the next four years. It is obvious anecdotal evidence of consolidation within the industry is proving to be accurate.
