THE AUSTERITY MEASURES IMPOSED BY BEIJING ARE OVER AND CHINA IS READY TO START UP AGAIN, SAID GUILLAUME DÉGLISE, VINEXPO CEO, CITING THE LATEST IWSR STUDY AND HE IS BETTING ON 24.8% CONSUMPTION GROWTH IN 2018

China is ready to start up again. The austerity measures the Government of Beijing imposed, which especially hit consumption and trade of spirits and fine wines, leading to a 3.1% fall in wine consumption in 2013 (we are waiting for 2014 data, definitely negative, ed.) are over and the Dragon is back in the game, with renewed dynamism.
The Vinexpo CEO, Guillaume Déglise, is betting on China and just yesterday, presented the Chinese press industry the trends, resulting from the last IWSR - International Wine and Spirit Research study (www.theiwsr.com).
"Starting in 2015”, said Déglise, “we will witness a new, positive development on the Chinese market. According to the IWSR study, between 2014 and 2018, wine consumption in China will grow 24.8%, while in the same period, France will continue to fall an additional 2.8%. In quantitative terms, 180.7 million boxes of wine (equivalent to 1.626 billion liters of wine) will be consumed between China and Hong Kong, against 288.2 million boxes in France (2.6 billion liters).
Numbers”, continues Déglise, “that will make China the fifth largest consumer country of wine”.
Among the many reasons that support so much optimism, there is the fragile per capita consumption of the Asian giant, where currently only 1.2 liters of wine per year is drunk. This implies a great potential for growth, especially if you consider that the annual per capita consumption is 12 liters in the US, and in France, at least for now, more than 45 liters. Another reason for optimism is represented by important demographic factors: in the next five years, in fact, as many as 37 million Chinese youth will become of age for drinking alcohol, and the growth of the middle class, will most likely contribute to the growth of the wine lover target.
It should be noted that in China red wine represents 91% of the market, and the trend is unlikely to change. This aspect has certainly facilitated the presence and growth of French wines, often seen as a status symbol, which still account for 46% of total imports. In the future, though, the name won’t be enough because the Chinese wine lover is more and more attentive and informed, studying and tasting, becoming a more mature consumer.
“Bordeaux crus classés”, concluded Déglise, “have dominated French exports for years, and their prices have risen enormously thanks to Chinese demand. Now, though, everything is changing, and if Bordeaux is still dominating the market, it is certainly not for the high-end wines, but for the ones that cost 5 euros a bottle, and on the shelf in China at 20 euros”.