From January to March, China imported 200.57 million litres of wines, representing a year-on-year growth of 32.34% in volume and a 35.84% increase in value, according to the latest figures released by the China Association for Import and Export of Wine and Spirits (CAWS).
France is still leading the country’s bottled wine imports with US$271.9 million worth of wines exported to China during the period, making up a 38.2% market share. Australia’s import value climbed to US$200.17 million, accounting for 28.1% of the country’s total bottled wine market.
Imports from Australia in both volume and value terms have grown more than 50% respectively, as a further tax cut reduced import tariff on Australian wines down to 2.4%.
Australia’s growth momentum is expected to be boosted further during the coming year as China will completely eliminate import tariff on Australian wines.