Shortage of key ingredient puts Australia’s 2022 wine vintage at risk
Wine industry suppliers have been warned to plan ahead amid rising costs and international shortages of a key ingredient in the winemaking process.
The sector has been affected by reduced supplies of diammonium phosphate (DAP), a nitrogen fertiliser commonly used during grape fermentation.
Jason Amos, the chair of Wine Industry Suppliers Australia (Wisa), told Guardian Australia that shipping delays and a reduction in supply of DAP from China had combined to increase costs.
“I’ve seen prices up to five times more expensive for us in the wine sector,” he said.
Amos estimates that previously, between 65 and 80% of the DAP used by the Australian wine industry was imported from China. “The quantities that are required in the wine sector are nowhere
Read more on theguardian.com
