FRANCE: Castel doubles wine exports to China

Castel, France's biggest wine producer, has said it expects to double its exports to China for 2008.
 
Castel's wine sales to China are likely to reach 5.5m bottles, almost double 2007, when 2.6 million bottles were sold, Castel has said. It predicted a further 18% increase next year.
 
Xavier Pignel-Dupont, Castel¹s export director for China, attributed the sales figures to an increase in Castel¹s distributors and strong domestic demand.
 
"We now have 10 importers in China, last year it was three or four, and they have about 1,500 distributers," he told just-drinks yesterday (10 November).
 
Strong domestic demand, he added, would protect China from the ongoing economic downturn. "The Chinese drink a lot of wine, 95% of consumption is Chinese wine."
 
Citing Chinese customs figures, Pignel-Dupont said France is holding its own as China's leading overseas wine supplier, providing 38.2% of imports between January and September 2008, while 19.8% came from Australia.