Riverina winegrape growers are bracing for worsening economic conditions with one grower saying he'd never seen so many vineyards on the market before.
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Impacts from inflation, poor weather conditions and China's anti-dumping tariffs on Australian wine imports have left winegrape growers with unsold fruit and lowered income.
Foley's Corner Vineyard in Widgelli recently hit the market and is expected to fetch at least $16 million, while Casella Family Brands announced in May it would be selling 35 of its vineyards, though denied it had anything to do with finances.
Riverina Winegrape Growers chairman Bruno Brombal said he'd never seen so many of the region's grape farms on the market.
"It's just not profitable," Mr Brombal said. "Chemicals have gone up, fertiliser is through the roof, power's going up, diesel's going up. That doesn't help when prices are dropping down in the grape industry."
"It's going to be a hectic year and I think that's why people are looking to get out," he added.
MIA grape farmer Bob Bellato is one of many farmers leaving the industry, having recently put both of his farms up for sale.
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Mr Bellato, who has been growing grapes since 1983, said the compounding impacts of inflation as well as recent hail storms which destroyed 30 per cent of his crops had finally forced him to retire from the industry.
"This season is the straw that broke the camel's back for quite a few growers," Mr Bellato said.
"I've got two vineyards and they're both up for sale. I've had enough. I'm 60 years-of-age and I don't need to put up with this any longer.
Mr Bellato said he could understand why other farmers were taking a similar path.
"You turn on the TV and there's always an ad for a vineyard for sale. It sounds like a lot of growers have just had enough," he said.
"There's too many times where you stand up and you get knocked down. It gets to a point where you say 'enough is enough'."
"If we're talking about the moving of our product then the hole that has been left by China is massive," said Tim McMullen, who is managing director at Borambola Wines, east of Wagga.
"It's a tough gig. Markets have been lost and it's made it really tough for those just growing grapes."
He said his comparatively smaller winery had also been affected by heavier rainfalls which had produced lower yields.
Mr McMullen said he was optimistic though, particularly since his business had started selling to other vineyards in the Hunter Valley and Canberra regions.
"Some of those vineyards had been devastated by hail and rain, so we sold some of our fruit and created an opportunity," he said.
While demand for white grapes remains steady, Mr Brombal said he couldn't see conditions improving for most red grape farmers anytime soon.
"I don't think it's going to improve in the short term, especially when you've got some of the wineries with two years of red stock in their tanks, and there's another harvest coming on in six months time," he explained.
Mr Brombal said mental health would also need to be a priority for farmers.
"You know what growers are like, 'We'll hang out another year, we'll wait another year'," he said. "But I think mental health is going to be a major problem for some growers this year."
Mr Bellato also said he wasn't sure how soon conditions would return to normal.
"I honestly can't see greener pastures for up to five years," he said.
"I could be wrong, and I hope I am, but it'll be a slow crawl back to get to where we were."
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