Azerbaijan eyes China's wine market

BAKU — Azerbaijan intends to increase wine exports to China, Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) said on its website Friday.

The issue of expanding cooperation between Azerbaijan and China in the area of wine trade was discussed at a meeting participated by local winemakers and the trade representative of Azerbaijan in China Teymur Nadiroglu, according to AZPROMO.

During the meeting, the trade representative pointed out that as a wine-producing country, Azerbaijan has a significant potential to increase wine supplies to China.

China's wine import has been showing rapid growth in both volume and value since 2015. China's import market is dominated by French wine, which has a 40 percent market share. Other top performers are Australia, Chile, Spain, Italy and the United States, according to Nadiroglu.

With a growing taste for imported wines, the potential for a third-tier, medium-priced market is emerging and is set to grow as demand increases in China, the participants concluded.

Last year, Azerbaijani local companies concluded an agreement with the Chinese side on export of 500,000 bottles of wine to China.

They believed that besides wine, energy, especially alternative sources, tourism and agriculture are major prospects for economic cooperation between the two countries.