Patrón’s McDonnell hoping to solve Chinese tequila ban

Patrón COO and Discus president John McDonnell has told Drinks International that work continues to reverse the Chinese ban on some tequilas.

100% agave tequila is exported to Hong Kong and Macau but is outlawed in mainland China because of its methanol level.

McDonnell said work was afoot behind the scenes with the Mexican government and US trade organisations to persuade the Chinese authorities to reverse the ban.

“It’s on my radar - It’s a collective effort to solve this issue,” he said.

McDonnell pointed to South Korea as an example of a u-turn on the issue. “Korea changed a few years back” he said.

Unable to market its tequilas, Patrón Spirits' focus in mainaland China is currently Patrón XO Cafe and Patrón Citronge Orange .