Finance chief raises glass to French wine deal

The signing of a memorandum of understanding with France on wine will help create more jobs in Hong Kong and boost wine-related tourism, Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah said yesterday.

"The signing of the MOU marks another milestone [for Hong Kong]. France is a leading and prestigious wine producing country and also the largest supplier of wine to Hong Kong," Tsang said.

He said 57 percent of total wine imports by value came from France, a growth rate of 108 percent since 2006. As such, the agreement will push Hong Kong one step further towards becoming Asia' wine hub.

"I am confident that this [MOU] will generate economic benefits ... including the creation of jobs in Hong Kong, which has been the objective underlying the decision to remove duty on wine," Tsang said.

French minister of agriculture and fisheries Michel Barnier confirmed the agreement amounted to a win-win situation for both countries.

"France's unique expertise and large diversity in production, from the very high end grand crus and chateaux, to the middle market very affordable quality wines from different producing regions, makes it the reference partner for wine trade and promotion," Barnier said.

He said with its logistical and financial expertise, and its unique knowledge of the mainland market, Hong Kong was a natural wine hub for Asia. The MOU consists of a number of broad agreements including the facilitation of exhibitions and fairs held in each country, providing industry contacts to interested investors, setting up of training institutions to foster wine knowledge, the creation of wine-related tourism and enhanced co-operation to battle counterfeit wine.

But the last point was of little concern, according to Consultat-General du France head of food and agriculture Marc Brugaliere, who said counterfeit wines were more a problem for emerging markets. " Hong Kong has not had a problem [with counterfeit wines] for the past five or six years," Brugaliere said.

Hong Kong is also looking into signing a similar MOU with Australia.