China Wine Markets Have Great Growth Potential

China consumes the largest amount of wine in Asia and its market has great growth potential due to relaxed import duties and increased exposure to quality wines, an organiser of a major wine convention said.

  "It's a market that's quite new. It has great potential and will grow more," said Dominique Heriard Dubreuil, chairwoman of the three-day Vinexpo Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong.

  More than 500 winemakers from 28 nations were at the convention and many were looking for ways to tap into China's budding taste for quality foreign wines.

  China is still much less developed than longtime Asian market leader Japan, which had wine sales of $2.6 billion in 2004.

  China recorded sales of $1.13bn in the same year, even though it consumed 500 million bottles - the highest volume in Asia.
  Lower prices accounted for the smaller sales figures.

  China is a largely untapped market for exporters, with foreign winemakers making up only 5.3% of the total volume sold in 2004, according to a Vinexpo study. Imported spirits accounted for just 0.3% of Chinese consumption.

  But Heriard Dubreuil says the Chinese are learning to be more discerning and knowledgeable about foreign wines, with demand for cognac and whisky particularly strong.

  "About 10 years ago the market suddenly opened to wine. They were not very discerning about the taste," she said, adding that standards are improving because "Chinese winemakers have also improved their offerings to match international taste".

  Wine consumption should grow about 7.8% annually from 1999 to 2009, Vinexpo's study said.