At the beginning of the 90's, the chic of exotic wines generated the brandy production in China, followed by the shot up of dry red wine at the end of 1995, which injected vitality into the country's wine industry.
Number of Wineries: By the end of 1995, there were over 240 wineries in China, with the more than 100 new ones set up since 1996, the total present number is estimated over 300, most of them medium and small-size producers. Their average annual production capacity is below 2000 tons, with 70% under 1000 tons, 20% 1000-5000 tons, and 10% over 5000 tons. The only four wineries with the output of over 10,000 tons are Changyu, Great Wall, Dynasty, and Great Dragon.
Product Formation: Sweet and semi-sweet wines were the mainstay before 1995, with a small amount of dry wines. However, dry wine product shot up in recent years, with dry red leading the all the way up. By far, dry wines account for about 50% of the total wine production, with 80% dry red and 20% dry white in it. High quality varieties made to international standards form a larger and larger part, such as Huadong's ˇ°CHARDONNAYˇ±, ˇ°Huaxia Dry Redˇ±, Changyu's ˇ°CABERNETˇ±, and Beijing's ˇ°Dragon Sealˇ±.
Annual Output: Wine output in China wavered at the level of 200,000 tons, with 265,000 tons in 1996 and 283,300 tons in 1997, which figure accounted for less than 1% in China's beverage production.
Import and Export: With the popularization of wine consumption in large and medium-sized cities in China, wine import skyrocketed, with 5,930 tons in 1996, 39,670 tons in 1997, and 49,840 tons in 1998. In the first 9 months of 1999, according to customs statistics, 400,902 tons of wine were imported, which claimed a 7.62% increase over the same period of 1998. Annual wine export from China for the last few years was about 3,000-4,000 tons.
Market Trend:Wine consumers: Wine consumers at present can be divided into two categories -- the sophisticated and the modern, the former consisting of well-educated and well-paid white collars, and the latter being either nova riche or ˇ°super-modern groupˇ±. Ordinary wage-earners only drink wine on limited occasions.
Market Potentials: Annual wine consumption in China is about 500,000 tons, with 300,000 tons of local wine and 100,000 tons of exotic wine. Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chengdu and other more developed cities claim a large portion of the consumption, and wine is mostly drunk in luxurious hotels, bars and casinos.
Market Future: A poll conducted by authorities for 50,000 residents in 20 cities shows that the year 1993 saw a 3% increase in wine market penetration than 1998. Respectively 20% residents in Beijing and Shanghai prefer wines. The increase is the result of the acknowledgement of wine's nourishing effects and its charm of profound cultural contents, with the help of flexible marketing strategies of wine businesses. With China's entry of WTO and the ensuing cultural exchanges with the outside world, there is expected to be more exotic wine varieties in the market. The two-way cultural permeation and the lower prices would make more and more consumers accept and love wine.
