China’s imports of wine are expected to increase sharply this year, after a free trade agreement was signed with Australia on June 17. Under this, tariffs on Australian wine exports to China will be reduced to zero within five years, the Guangzhou Daily reports.
For the first two months of this year, imports of wine saw a 23.7% growth year-on-year to 79.31 million litres, according to the latest statistics.
The significant growth in sales was mainly driven by strong demand and the market has experienced obvious changes which has seen sharp declines in inventories of imported wine, with many second- and third-tier importers entering the market, which has intensified competition, industry experts said.