Revealed: How Many Chinese Wine Importers Topped RMB 500 Million in Sales in 2023?

The year 2023 posed unprecedented challenges for Chinese wine importers.

Amid a severe downturn, China’s wine consumption plummeted by 24.7%, totaling just 6.8 million hectoliters—a dramatic decline from the 17.4 million hectoliters recorded in 2018, and down 5.6 million hectoliters since the pandemic’s onset in 2020, as shown by OIV data.

This reduction was unparalleled among the world’s top ten wine markets, with no other nation experiencing such significant contractions (see our visualisation below). Even in war-affected Russia, wine consumption managed a modest increase of 0.2 million hectoliters last year.

In this stark landscape, the task of selling wine in a market that’s retreating from wine is daunting to say the least. The downturn has been reflected in the diminished sales revenue of the country’s leading importers, a sharp contrast to their peak sales between 2016 and 2018. In some instances, sales revenue shrank by hundreds of millions, as financial results indicate.

But that doesn’t mean sales in a retracting market wasn’t possible. Among the top 50 wine importers, we have identified a select group of companies that have recorded stellar sales during challenging times – though profitablity is another question. These importers have managed to generate annual sales exceeding RMB 100 million (US$13.8 million), RMB 200 million, and in one case surpassing RMB 800 million (see the pyramid chart below) – though profitabity is a different question. Their stories nonetheless highlight the skill, strategic planning, and resilience required to navigate and survive in one of the toughest wine markets in the world.

For a deeper understanding of these companies, please consider purchasing our detailed report. Available in both English and Chinese, this report serves as a survival guide to forging meaningful business connections and achieving success in the Chinese wine market.