SHANGHAI, April 5 Reuters Australia39;s wine industry has cheered news that China will drop antidumping tariffs, reopening its market to imports, but the tougher economic conditions of 2024 are unlikely to deliver the sparkling growth winemakers seek.

For two decades, China has driven growth in the global wine industry as many among the hundreds of millions entering its middle class acquired a taste for wines from Australia, Chile, Italy and France.

But industry executives in China say the market, and domestic consumption, are still struggling to recover from a downturn that began before the COVID19 pandemic and was drawn out by the lengthy curbs it brought.

The market has shrunk hugely in terms of consumer interest in wine and that39;s not showing any signs of reversing post COVID, said Kym Anderson, executive director of the Wine Economics Research Centre at the University of Adelaide.

China39;s apparent consumption of wine in 2023, which includes imports and domestic production, was barely a quarter of its peak in 2017, with annual import volumes shrinking twothirds over that period, he added.

At the same time, more domestic and global players have crowded into the market, with many alcoholic drinks besides wine also on offer, said Judy Chan, chief executive of leading domestic winemaker Grace Vineyards.

Now we see more cocktails, craft beers, there39;s so many more choices for consumers, she said.

Wine … had this halo of international sophistication. Part…