New wine trading centre opened in Fujian province to become biggest in China
The Chinese city of Xiamen in Fujian province has opened a huge 5,900m sq metre wine trading centre, which it hopes will become the largest of its kind for imported wines in the country within five years.
Situated in the Xiamen area of the China Pilot Free Trade Zone, the Xiamen International Wine Exchange (XIWE) is designed to boost the region’s imported wine capacity, particularly for medium and high end wines, according to China Daily.
The centre which includes facilities for wine exhibitions, trading, tasing and training will enjoy preferential treatment from the Free Trade Zone on e-commerce, finance, and customs clearance, according to Lin Shuxi, an official with the FTZ’s administrative centre.
Xiamen is currently ranked as China’s third largest trading hub for wine, and is one of the first Chinese ports to begin importing wine. In the first six months of the year, wines worth US$47 milliion were shipped to the coastal city, the majority of it French, reported Xiamen Daily. The city is also the largest importer of beer in the country, processing 108 million litres in the first half of 2017 according to government statistics.