CHILI'S VINEYARDS MUST STRETCH TO MEET DEMANDS

As the interest in Chilean wines continues to grow worldwide, wine-growers from that country must scramble to meet demands by increasing harvests 50%. According to a study published by the Chilean government, Chile will be exporting 10 million hectoliters by 2014 at a value of over $1.8 billion. In order to meet this goal, farmers must plant at least 67,000ha. This phenomenon sharply contradicts trends in the mid-90s where Chile was producing only 3.1 million hectoliters and exporting close to a quarter. Now exports account for the majority of their production. The Chilean Agriculture 2014 study put forth a ‘high hypothesis,’ based on an annual growth of 8% in volume in price, and a ‘low hypothesis,’ that projects an annual growth rate of 5%. But despite Chili’s wine export success, the country is susceptible to worldwide currency fluctuations, “a situation that has become severe in recent months with a weak dollar and strong peso,” writes Peter Richards of decanter.com.