Contact:
Andy Hira, 778.782.3286; 604.936.4622; ahira@sfu.ca
Marianne Meadahl, PAMR, 778.782.9017; Marianne_Meadahl@sfu.ca


Details of a two-year study on the state of the global wine industry will be unveiled at a Wine Competitiveness Forum at Simon Fraser University on Sept. 14, 3:30-6 p.m. at the Halpern Centre on the Burnaby campus.

The forum will highlight the findings of several case studies carried out by SFU graduate students on the state of the industry worldwide. During the forum, a major report on the state of the Ontario wine industry will also be shared.

The wide-spanning research targets the institutions and policies of new global wine industries within Canada as well as far-ranging countries, such as Mexico, Brazil, North Africa, and others, notes SFU political science professor Andy Hira, who has spent the past several years studying the industry, including the challenges facing B.C.’s industry.

The forum is a culmination of a project funded by Genome Canada, Genome BC, UBC and SFU, examining the competitiveness of the wine industry.

It will include a wider open discussion about the wine industry and, more generally, what policies can be followed to promote industries.

A new book on the topic is also in the works. Besides analyzing the industry’s past two decades, which Hira notes saw a major shift in levels of competitiveness among global markets, it will provide ideas and evidence for re-establishing competitiveness based on the case studies, from the long-standing potential but weak performance of countries like Bulgaria to the success of others, Australia among them.

To attend, please RSVP by Aug. 25 to: nboehm@sfu.ca

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