China s wine market potential

China's wine market potential

2016-03-22

Undoubtedly, the market potential for wine producers and trading platforms is set to growth, the number of wealthy households in China expected to expand at an annual rate of around 16% for the next 5-7 years. Moreover, there has been high increases in Chinese internet penetration with an increase of 31 million new Internet users in 2015 (reaching a total of 649 million). Such a catalysis, together with general perception of foreign brands being of superior quality (i.e. Burgundy, Bordeaux markets) has hence led to strong import dependence of the Chinese, Japanese and Korean markets, with consumers importing as much as 96-100% of their wines.

However, wine producers must recognise that expansion into Asia, specifically China would face several restrictions with Xi JingPing's government-initiated austerity drive and anti-corruption drive hampering the premium wine market for gifting and banqueting. Hence, firm compliance with central authorities are imperative for the business to thrive. Furthermore, with China's economy growing at a rapid rate of around 6-7% (2016 predictions), China's economy has become multi-dimensional, facing transition challenges as the structure adapts to various economic and market reforms implemented by the central authorities.