Chinese Vineyards: On the Rise
As wine cultivation declines elsewhere, China is climbing toward the top.
September 17, 2017
1. In many parts of the world, the land area under cultivation as wine vineyards has been declining.
2. The biggest exception is China, which now has the second-largest land area devoted to vineyards of any country around the world (847,000 hectares, or 3,270 square miles).
3. Only Spain still has more vineyard cultivation (975,000 hectares, or 3,764 square miles) than China.
4. Spain is also the world’s biggest wine exporter, with a global market share of 22%.
5. On a worldwide basis, wine exports amounted to €28.9 billion ($32.4 billion) in 2016, with a volume of 104.1 million hl – or 39% of wine produced globally – being sold abroad.
6. In terms of total wine consumption, China currently ranks in fifth place. Chinese wine consumption, which totaled 17.3 million hectoliters (hl) in 2016, is growing fast, increasing by nearly 7% over the previous year.
7. However, on a per capita basis, China’s wine consumption is quite small, at just 1.5 liters as of 2012.
8. The country has great capacity for future growth, given the sheer size of its population and the ongoing economic transition to middle class affluence.
9. China’s wine imports also increased not just in volume (0.8 million hl), but also significantly in value (€303 million or $340 million), marking a shift toward more upscale wine.
10. Chinese wine imports are overwhelmingly bottled, which tends to be higher-end than bulk wine.
Sources: The Globalist Research Center, the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV)