Australia’s wine sector, hurt by a lack of transactions as wineries and vineyards struggle to get sold, will benefit when interest rates start falling and consumer spending increases, but deals will pick up only when banks are willing to lend more, industry figures say.

Weak consumer spending, high borrowing costs and a glut of inventory triggered by China’s decision to exert punishing tariffs on Australian wine imports in 2020 – which are still to be fully absorbed nearly a year after they were removed in March – have crimped the appetite for wine assets.