Chile’s wine to be introduced in Vietnam - Chile’s wine to be introduced in Vietnam

Chile has selected Ho Chi Minh City as a venue for introducing its claret as part of the country’s promotion programme in Asia.

Chile ’s Trade Commission (ProChile) has also enlisted Hong Kong, Taipei, Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo as other destinations during the programme scheduled for between May 18 and June 1.

According to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), Chile ranked eighth among the world’s leading wine producers, with its output reaching 8.6 million hectoliters last year.

The country is now the largest wine exporter in Latin American and the fifth largest in the world with 5.8 million hectoliters.

In 2008, Ho Chi Minh City was one of the Asian places hosting the Chilean Week to boost two-way trade and investment as well as promoting the image of the South American country in this continent.

Cobra Beer for setting up wineries in India

With a view to gaining a foothold in the rapidly growing Indian wine market, UK-based Cobra Beer is looking at setting up wineries in the country besides investing more in expanding the company's beer business in the domestic market.
"There are many locations in the country such as Uttarakhand and Karnataka where wineries could be created and we are studying the possibility of setting of wineries in the country," Cobra Beer Promoter and Chairman Karan Bilimoria said.
"Currently, our wine brand 'General Bilimoria' is produced at 10 locations across the globe and we would soon start importing wine but setting up wineries in India would take some time," he said while adding," currently, duties on imported wines are too high and we would like to wait for some time till they come down".
Cobra Beer is also investing in expanding its beer business in the country as it is looking to produce 10 million cases by 2010-11.
"Cobra Beer achieved the annualised production of around 3.5 million cases in July this year and by July next year, it will be around five million cases and by 2010-11, our total production would be around 10 million cases," Bilimoria said.
When asked about the investment, he declined to give details but said: "It would be to the tune of several million pounds."

China imports more wine on high demand

China's wine import continued to grow in the first five months of this year, thanks largely to tariff-cuts, strong demand at home and high profits for dealers, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Between January and May, China bought 84.89 million liters of wine from abroad, a growth of 10.3 percent on the same period of last year. The arrivals were valued at $310 million, up 49.1 percent.

Foreign-funded companies made up 64.4 percent, or 54.71 million liters, of the total arrivals, up 9.9 percent, and private businesses accounted for 16.7 percent, or 14.18 million liters, up 16.7 percent.

Of the total imports, 46.96 million liters, or 55.3 percent, came from Latin America. Around 9.72 million liters was bought from Argentina, up 21 times, and 27.69 million liters from the European Union, up 17.9 percent.