Bendigo region wine exporters suffer from new Chinese tariffs

Water Wheel Vineyards owner, Peter Cumming, said it would be hard for him and other Bendigo region wine exporters.

Mr Cumming has two containers of wine - worth more than $100,000 - languishing in the dock in China, while he waits for the situation to resolve.

The Chinese government imposed temporary tariffs of between 107 and 212 per cent on Australian wine last week, claiming it had evidence product dumping was damaging the local market.

It follows a series of tariffs and bans on Australian exports to China, such as barley and lobster.

Mr Cumming said the next year would be tough, because the damage was done even if China removed tariffs.

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He said Australia's entire wine industry - including his own business and other Bendigo region exporters - would be affected by the move, as China normally took nearly 40 per cent of exports.

Mr Cumming's business sent several hundred thousand dollars worth of wine to China last December, to meet the peak Chinese New Year period. This year, he'll send none.

He said Australian exporters would never recover their place in China, because trade links were hard to build and easy to wipe out.

Mr Cumming said even if all other export markets for Australian wine doubled, it would only nearly make up for the loss of the Chinese market.

Exports to China made up nearly half of his winery's business, he said.

Mr Cumming said the wine industry would not recover its position in China, even if tariffs were removed immediately.

He plans to sell the wine currently in the docks in China for whatever he can get there, because he can't face bringing it back to Australia.

Mr Cumming urged Australian politicians to leave negotiating up to diplomats in China.

"It's just very disappointing, it's just so disappointing," he said.

"Australia's success in general and the Australian wine industry's success in China should be something to celebrate, instead it's ruinous.

"For my part, I can't see the reason for that ruin. We have big disagreements with our very close trading partners, but we continue to be polite to them. [You] might imagine to our biggest trading partner, we might be a bit more humble."

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