Follow Spain residency by investment and follow Spanish economic development: Nowadays, French wine consistently maintains a dominant position in the Chinese wine market. However, with the rise of wines from Spain and other New World countries, they are also beginning to capture a larger share of the consumer market in China.
Data provided by Chinese Customs indicates that although French wine currently still accounts for half of China's imported wine market, the import volume of wine from Australia and Spain is also growing rapidly. Sales of French wine continue to grow, with Spain following closely behind, accounting for a 40% share in 2013. Today, China has become the third-largest importer of Spanish wine.
Hong Kong wine educator Rebecca Leung stated: "In addition to consuming large quantities of French wine, China is now looking for many new types of wine." Furthermore, considering price factors, Italian, Portuguese, and Australian wines have a competitive advantage over French wines. High-end Spanish wines are typically priced between $260 and $390, while the price of high-end French wines is more than double that amount.
At last week's Hong Kong wine fair, some French wine merchants expressed: "In the Chinese market, the addition of new competitors is a good thing for the development of the wine industry. The arrival of new competitors can encourage them to improve their grape yields and the quality of the wines they produce. We have always been confident in the quality of our products." At this exhibition, Spain, as the largest partner in Asia, firmly seized the opportunity and successfully promoted its wines in the Chinese market.
Since the abolition of wine import tariffs in 2008, Hong Kong has become the primary hub for wine imports into mainland China. Today, Hong Kong has successfully overtaken the United States to become the world's largest wine trading center.
Spanish wine merchants stated: "The wine markets in Europe and Western countries are aging; the potential of emerging markets like China is enormous." At this Hong Kong wine fair, a buyer from Shenzhen remarked: "Whether it is French, Spanish, or wine from other countries, as long as it is high-quality wine, I believe it will certainly have a place in the Chinese market."
According to data from the organizer in March, from 2007 to 2011, China's wine consumption volume soared by 142.1%, an increase of 191 million bottles. In the following three years, through to 2016, it is estimated that the Chinese market (including Hong Kong) will be able to consume 252 million bottles of wine annually. If consumption continues to grow at this momentum, in a few years, China's wine consumption will exceed that of the United States. By 2016, French wine's share will decline by 3%. This consumption trend in China is driven by the emergence of an increasing number of middle-class individuals and the public's preference for foreign products.
