AUSTRALIAN DISTILLERY FINDS SUCCESS IN NORTH ASIA EXPORT CASE STUDY | OCTOBER 2017

Tasmania’s Hellyers Road Distillery becomes ’s number one seller of single malt worldwide by taking advantage of export opportunities.

Hellyers Road Distillery has been producing varieties of single since 1999. The distillery, located in the northwest coastal town of Burnie in , was founded by a group of dairy farmers who knew their region was the perfect environment for sourcing high-quality, pure whisky ingredients. Since its creation 18 years ago, Hellyers ‘There’s no doubt the free trade agreements Road has established itself as the leading Australian have facilitated the increased number of boutique distiller because of its range of locally enquiries from Asia.’ crafted fine whisky products. Mark Littler, General Manager and Master Distiller, Hellyers Hellyers Road has a history of export success, with Road Distillery its available in over 20 European countries, Japan, India, China and Argentina. The Distillery Reduced tariffs driving business growth began exporting in 2009 after establishing a partnership with French distributor La Maison du ChAFTA has reduced the tariff on Australian exports Whisky. Partnering with the Paris-based company of whisky to China to four per cent and this tariff will gave Hellyers Road access to a European be eliminated in January 2019. distribution network, opening up new business opportunities in the rest of Europe. ‘Our partners in China made their first order in cases . A recent order was for a full pallet which for a North Asia FTAs increase business boutique distillery is really impressive. Chinese interest demand for our products is growing, and we hope to see this continue,’ Littler said Recently, Hellyers Road has increased its focus on the Asian market. Mark Littler, General Manager and Littler says these tariff reductions have opened up Master Distiller at Hellyers Road, credits the surge of new sales opportunities for Hellyers Road, bringing enquiries and interest to the China-Australia Free not only an increase in company profits, but an Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) and the Japan- increase in the number of Asian tourists visiting the Australia Economic Partnership Agreement Tasmanian distillery. (JAEPA). ‘There’s been a huge tourism boom coming from Asia to Tasmania and a lot of these tourists are ‘There’s no doubt the free trade agreements have facilitated the increased number of enquiries from interested in visiting our distillery and learning about our story,’ he says. Asia. Thanks to the FTAs, we’ve been able to build up several Asian contacts who we’re now building relationships with,’ says Littler.

JAEPA has also provided benefits for Hellyers Road. About Austrade The tariff on Australian whisky entering Japan has been bound at zero. The Australian Trade and Investment Commission – Austrade – contributes to Australia’s economic ‘The Japanese are big consumers of single malt prosperity by helping Australian businesses, whiskies and there is a big market for it. Our education institutions, tourism operators, Japanese partner, Toa Shoji, purchased an order governments and citizens as they: worth over $150,000 and we’ve already got pending orders from them for similar amounts. › develop international markets

‘In March, I attended a trade event with Toa Shoji › win productive foreign direct investment and not only was there interest in single malt › promote international education whiskies, but in Australian products generally,’ he says. › strengthen Australia's tourism industry › seek consular and passport services. Hellyers Road is not currently exporting to South Korea. However, with the Korean tariff on whisky reduced from 20 per cent to 12 per cent and more tariff cuts yet to come in the future under the Korea- Disclaimer Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA), the Whereas every effort has been made to ensure the information interest from Korean consumers will grow. Littler given in this document is accurate, the Australian Trade and says Korea is one of Hellyers Road’s next market on Investment Commission does not provide warranty or accept liability for any loss arising from reliance on such information. the export horizon. ©Commonwealth of Australia 2017 Find the right partner

In terms of advice for anyone thinking of exporting to North Asia, Littler says finding the right export partner is crucial.

‘It’s really important that people take your product and sell it at a price that represents its value. You need to be confident that the people distributing your products globally will value and support your brand,’ he says.

‘We worked with Austrade and their export advisors, who gave us guidance on the enquiries we were receiving. With their help, we were able to determine which relationships we wanted to pursue and which ones we didn’t.’

Certification is an essential part of benefiting from the FTAs

Littler says exporters should also ensure they fill out all the correct export paperwork, and obtain any supporting evidence to benefit from lower tariffs offered by free trade agreements.

‘The importer is not able to receive the reduced tariff benefits if this paperwork isn’t completed and submitted correctly, so it’s really important to understand what is required,’ he says.

For more information email [email protected] or visit www.austrade.gov.au