CASABLANCA VALLEY, Chile, Jun 13 – The Chinese market is very attractive for Chilean wineries, many of which are now promoting their products there, an expert said Thursday.
While wine consumption has been rapidly growing in China, it has been declining since 2013 in developed countries, Claudia Soler, research manager at national wine promotion agency Wines of Chile, told Xinhua.
The trend has prompted several Chilean wineries to open offices in China, she said.
“We are still discovering that market, which has great potential, and we now have an office in Beijing and carry out wine promotion events,” she said, adding her agency has also created a Chinese-language website.
In contrast to China, wine consumption has been on the decline in the European Union as a result of the global economic crisis.
Even in the United States, the largest wine market in the world, wine consumption is slowing down, she said.
Consumption in South America has been increasing, but the rise does not offset the decline in European countries, said Soler.
It is estimated that global wine trade contracted 2.2 percent in 2013, but trade value increased slightly by 1.5 percent owing to higher prices.
