Moutai Price Falls to Four-Year Low as Business Gifting Declines

For years, Feitian Moutai (Flying Fairy) was more than just a bottle of baijiu.

It was an unspoken fixture at power lunches, the go-to gift for officials and executives, a status symbol as much as a spirit. In Beijing boardrooms and banquet halls across the country, few things conveyed prestige and influence quite like the red-and-gold label of China’s most iconic liquor brand.

Now, its luster is fading.

The price of Feitian Moutai — long considered the “gold standard” of China’s alcohol market — has dropped to around RMB 2,100 (USD 291.91), its lowest level in nearly four years. That marks a steep 38% fall from its peak of RMB 3,400 (USD 472.62), when speculators and collectors once believed it could break RMB 4,000.

The decline, while not abrupt, has been steady — and symbolic. In a country where alcohol consumption is tightly bound to business culture, Moutai’s downturn is seen as a barometer of broader economic unease.

Distributors Confirm Price Decline

Dong Huaicheng, General Manager of Medoc1855 Trading Co., Ltd. in Hebei and a long-time Moutai market observer, confirmed that Feitian Moutai is currently trading just above RMB 2,100.

“Moutai used to sell for over RMB 3,000, but it’s been in a steady ‘soft decline’ since last year—it didn’t drop off a cliff overnight. It’s taken a full year to reach the current level,” Dong explained.

He added that RMB 2,100 is the distributor wholesale price, with resale margins typically only adding RMB 20 to 50. “The pricing is highly transparent, and there’s very little room for distributor profit,” he noted.

Kweichow Moutai’s Revenue Far Outpaces Bordeaux’s Exports

Feitian Moutai is the flagship product of Kweichow Moutai Group, headquartered in northern Guizhou province. The state-owned distiller is a national titan, with more than 40,000 employees and a financial footprint that dwarfs most global wine players.

In 2024, it reported operating revenue of RMB 170.899 billion (US$ 23.76 billion), up 15.71% year-on-year, more than 10  times of the total export value of France’s Bordeaux wine region (2 billion euros). 

Its net profit attributable to shareholders totalled RMB 86.241 billion (USD 11.99 billion), a 15.37% increase. 

While Moutai’s official suggested retail price remains at RMB 1,499 (USD 208.37), the market price has long exceeded that — driven by scarcity, prestige, and a culture of gifting that placed Moutai somewhere between currency and collectible. Even now, at RMB 2,100, it’s still trading well above list — but no longer untouchably so.

‘Moutai Was the Last Fortress‘

Industry experts widely believe that the continuous slide in Feitian Moutai’s price fundamentally reflects the weakening of China’s business-related alcohol consumption. 

Feng Lihua, formerly with a wine retail chain in Shenzhen, said, “Feitian Moutai is mainly consumed during business banquets and gift-giving. Now, with the broader economy under pressure and business becoming tougher, demand in these segments is shrinking, and that naturally affects Moutai’s price trend.”

Dong shares a similar view, linking the price dip to underwhelming performance during the wine sector’s traditional peak season—both driven by the disappearance of business consumption scenarios, which has weakened overall purchasing power. “But the decline in Moutai’s price carries even more symbolic weight,” he emphasized.

In fact, the liquor industry began feeling the impact of subdued business spending as early as five years ago. According to Feng, “Moutai was the last fortress.” He continued, “The whole industry is being affected—not just Moutai. Prices of fine wines are falling, liquor store sales are struggling, and markup margins are shrinking. It’s all interconnected.”

Alcohol Brands Pivot to Younger Consumers

In response to the decline in business consumption, many drinks companies are shifting their strategies to appeal to younger demographics. 

Kweichow Moutai recently announced a promotional partnership with mainland Chinese pop star Zhang Yixing. Hennessy tapped Hong Kong singer Jackson Wang as a brand ambassador, while Penfolds enlisted Chinese singer Hua Chenyu as its spokesperson last year. All three artists command large and youthful fan bases.

“A few years ago, it would’ve been unimaginable for a traditional business-banquet wine like Penfolds to align with a young pop star like Hua Chenyu,” said Feng. “These collaborations with celebrities are aimed at tapping into younger audiences. This also shows that major brands have sensed the decline of traditional business channels and are proactively ‘moving downstream’ to find new growth drivers in the Chinese market.”