A new report has found the Tasmanian wine sector conservatively contributes more than $115M annually to the Tasmanian economy, placing it in the state’s top ten sectors.

Commissioned by Wine Tasmania, respected University of Queensland’s Economics Professor John Mangan analysed the wine sector’s contribution across agriculture (vineyards), manufacturing (wineries) and tourism (cellar doors and wine tourism expenditure by inbound visitors).

As the wine sector encompasses these three key areas, its exact value has been difficult to estimate in the past and often the understated farmgate (vineyard) value only has been used to reference the sector’s contribution to the local economy.

Wine Tasmania Chief Executive, Sheralee Davies, welcomed the report’s finding, which she said more accurately captures the sector’s significant and growing contribution to the island’s economy.

“Most of the wine sector’s value is derived post the farmgate, and this report provides unprecedented insight into the substantial overall value of the Tasmanian wine sector to the state.

“It’s an exciting time of growth in the sector’s relative youth, as we continue to attract global interest in our wines and ever-increasing visitation to our cellar doors,” Davies said.

Key findings:

• The Tasmanian wine sector is currently contributing significant economic benefit to the Tasmanian economy with the potential to continue growing in terms of its contribution to Gross State Product (GSP) and in employment
• Operationally, the industry (collectively) injects approximately $100 million annually into GSP and sustains 1,839 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) positions
• In addition, a further $15.2 million per annum is added to the GSP of Tasmania through wine related tourism, sustaining 224 additional FTE positions
• Considered collectively, the combined operational and tourist-based spending places the wine sector within the top 10 (7th to 8th) largest contributors to the Tasmanian economy
• Currently the Tasmanian wine sector represents only a fraction of Australian production by volume but is a differentiated product with promising growth potential. Its level of investment is well above (in percentage terms) the Australian average and Tasmanian wines have a significantly higher average selling price.