China's wine market: strategic considerations for Western exporters

Abstract

With consumption rising 10?15% per year, there is no doubt about the potential of Chinese wine market. Market share and global exports from Western countries have been continuously increasing starting a trend of annual double digit growth these past years and almost making the Chinese market's limit unreachable. However, there are some facts that seriously affect this trend: the domestic wine production – as demand increases so does domestic production, domestic producers are well aware of the government's goal of self-sufficiency; the market structure – strong domestic producers and distribution difficulties critically influence strategies for exporters; and the wine consumer's behaviour – quite different from European or US markets, affecting price and advertising strategies.