Monday, November 13, 2006

DWINDLING GRAPE HARVESTS TO HELP PRICING

Declining grape harvests are expected to help improve pricing across the board, particularly for Australian exports.

In last week’s investor’s meeting, Constellation announced its expectations for the U.S. and Australian grape harvests to each decline 25%.

“This could help clear excess supply, though supply/demand balance will likely take more than a year to achieve. Global retail wine pricing should also face less pressure, though grape costs could creep higher,” said UBS analyst Kaumil Gajrawala.