Australia’s largest buyer of wine grapes has completed a process of terminating contracts held by around 300 growers in the Murray Valley (Murray-Darling and Swan Hill wine regions).
As it did in late 2007 and 2008, Constellation Wines Australia has advised more growers by letter that contracts will expire after the third vintage from December 31 2009. This means that by the completion of the 2012 vintage all current contracts with Murray Valley growers will have been severed.
Next year’s vintage will be the last for those Constellation growers given notice in 2007; more were advised in 2008 that vintage 2011 would be their last and the final group has now received news of termination after the 2012 vintage.
Murray Valley Winegrowers (CEO) Mike Stone says the final terminations were the second round of bad news for Constellation growers during December.
“First, the company informed growers of indicative 2010 grape prices that shocked all and now growers, who previously thought that termination notices issued last year were the last, have the added worry of knowing their future with Constellation is limited.”
The Constellation Wine Company and its predecessors – Thomas Hardy & Sons, BRL Hardy and Hardy Wine Company – have had a long history of involvement in the Murray Valley. Contracts with many growers span 20 years or more.
Mike Stone says the termination notices this week came as a surprise.
“The company was on record as saying it intended to reduce the purchase of inland fruit by about 70,000 tonnes over several years. Thirty thousand tonnes would come from the Riverland SA and 40,000 from the Murray Valley, leaving a continuing intake in the Murray Valley of about 30,000 tonnes.
“The company was on record as saying it intended to reduce the purchase of inland fruit by about 70,000 tonnes over several years. Thirty thousand tonnes would come from the Riverland SA and 40,000 from the Murray Valley, leaving a continuing intake in the Murray Valley of about 30,000 tonnes.
“However, obviously the company has decided to discard all current contracts in the Murray Valley, which is gut-wrenching for long-term, loyal contract growers.”
Mike Stone has questioned whether the move by Constellation to shed all Murray Valley contracts is associated with a proposal to merge parts of Constellation’s Australian business with the operations of Australian Vintage Ltd, formerly McGuigan Simeon.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário