China imports record US$1.27bn of bottled wine in 2011

China imported a record 1.27 billion U.S. dollars of bottled wine in 2011, up 94 percent year-on-year, according to figures released Tuesday at the first China Worldwide Wine Summit Forum, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Meanwhile the value of imported loose-packed wine was down 20 percent from the previous year to 120 million U.S. dollars.
The sale of imported bottled wine first surpassed imported loose-packed wine in 2009, according to Lin Feng, vice president of H & J Consulting Company.
"The sale of imported bottled wine doubled that of loose-packed wine in two years, indicating that the imported wine market is evolving from low-end to high-end," Lin said during the forum held in Hefei, capital of Anhui Province, the news agency said.