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VINEXPO boss calls on China to produce more wine
14 January, 2009
China has to produce more wine in order to import more wine. This is the view of top trade show VINEXPO chief executive Robert Beynat.
China has to produce more wine in order to import more wine. This is the view of top trade show VINEXPO chief executive Robert Beynat.
Beynat told Drinks International: “Domestic wine consumption is the gateway to consumers trying wines from the rest of the world.”
Beynat said the country is already in the top ten producing countries – at number ten – according to VINEXPO and IWSR research. China is also number nine in the top ten still light wine consuming countries.
“China is an exciting market and in 2007 they produced 10 million hectolitres of wine.
“The more wine China produces, the more Chinese people will drink wine. Once they have a mature domestic market, they will import more. This is what happened in the US and now the US is set to become the biggest consumer in terms of volume, by 2012.”
Beynat also said he felt the global concentration of distribution is good for the industry.
“This has been a very exciting development that has continued to evolve since the last VINEXPO.
“It does make it more challenging for smaller producers but they will have to be organised and join the system.”
