Brent Linn: Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers CEO on the changes in the market, export growth

Is this a turning point for the wine industry? 

Data shows export volumes are expected to grow 4% to 285 million litres in the year to June 2025. 

Export revenue is also forecast to lift to $2.4 billion by 2029. 

Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers CEO Brent Linn told Mike Hosking Hawke’s Bay is more domestically focused, with production to export only representing 25% of their market. 

He says that they’ve built their pedigree on the premium end of the market, and they have noticed some return to purchases of the Hawke’s Bay brand. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
More good news from the land though before we get
their wine industry. New data shows our export volumes that are
expected to grow four percent to two hundred and eighty
five million letters. This is for the year to June
export revenue. They're our forecasting to lift a two point
four billion by twenty twenty nine. Britain is the chief
executive of hawks Bay Wine Grows and is with usprint morning.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Good morning, Mike, how are you very well?

Speaker 1 (00:20):
Thank you the mixed messages I'm getting the world's drinking
less alcohol in general. Are we pitching to a smaller
market but doing better with quality? Or is something changed
and we're selling more of it.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Our Perhaps if I can just set the sort of
parameters might you're talking to hawks Bay Wine here? And
hawks Bay is quite a domestically focused market or producer
compared to New Zealand Wine and Total as the national organization,

(00:57):
So I can only speak as to what is happening
here in Hawk's Bay on the ground. But that and
that represents about twenty five percent of our production to
export with the dance being domestic.

Speaker 1 (01:11):
So is it quality or volume you dealing with there?

Speaker 2 (01:15):
It's quality? So hawks Bay's built its pedigree on premium
end of the market, and in that premium end of
the market, we are noticing some return of purchases to

(01:37):
the Hawk's Bay brand.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
Fantastic. The terriff issues you wouldn't be dealing with those
of you domestic in that case, but I mean Craigie
Range tomato and stuff there international they be out there.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
Yeah, so about let's say about twenty five percent of
our production is destined for the export market. The character issue,
certainly it caused interesting discussions between our producers and their
agents and who was going to end up absorbing that
terraff structure, and most have come to arrangements which they

(02:11):
can live and work with. Not that they really wanted
to have to do that, but I've found those arrangements.
The bigger issue with the tariff is what it may
cause in terms of disruption in the market, where other
countries with different tariff structures may start looking at markets
that New Zealand and Hawk's Bay are strong and as

(02:34):
an alternative to supplying the States under a higher terraff structure.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
Exactly, And that's why we like free trade down we
Brent appreciate the insight. So two point four billion I
remember when it cracked two billion, so that's good growth
that they can get there in twenty twenty nine. For
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