China has always been a country working different. At least from the outside of China point of view. As Chinese consumers are reacting very intensive to changes in economy, pricing and politics, it might feel, like the country is a not reliable market.

China is and will be in the future an important wine market. Over the last decades the tendency is showing a growth. While it might be with up and downs, it’s a question of long term observation. Crucial to work in China, is to know the business and communication ways. While several wineries try this by their own, the success is often moderate.

Let us show some figures about the actual wine market in China:

• China reduced its wine import by over 19% in volume by September 2022. The value dropped less, by 11.6%.
• In figures we are talking about 265 millions of liters and 7,245 million Yuan.

While this sounds dramatic, the main aspect in China is to work stable and consistent. Communication with the Chinese market. Talk to partners and interested people might be laborious, but is beneficial for a future development.

Strong years like 2017 or even still 2019, are not covering the real demand on the market. Sometimes it’s due to changing currencies, short vintages or because of increasing taxes being ahead. As a country with a short history in wine consumption, China is still changing intensively the purchase of wines, when economy is down. Meaning right now is the time to build connections, to show the support and interest in the market.

By Jörg Philipp / Noviembre 2022
Editorial / Lost Valley U.S.A.