China's liquor brand Moutai reports record overseas sales

GUIYANG - China's top liquor brand Kweichow Moutai said on Friday it earned a record high of $383 million from exports in the first three quarters of 2018, an annual increase of 34.5 percent.

During the nine-month period, the group exported 1,769 tonnes of Kweichow Moutai and other alcoholic beverages, up 6.8 percent year-on-year.

An Huailun, chairman of Moutai's import and export subsidiary, said Moutai products have newly entered 12 countries along the Belt and Road routes this year, as the company expands overseas.

The export volume to 38 Belt and Road countries rose 36.4 percent, accounting for 22.6 percent of the firm's total overseas sales, said An at an overseas dealers' conference.

Moutai Group has planned to increase the proportion of overseas sales to over 10 percent of total sales by 2020, as it shifts its focus to the Western mainstream market from mainly overseas Chinese consumers.

Li Baofang, chairman of Moutai Group, said the company will seek to nurture international Moutai fans when expanding overseas.

"We will also pay attention to the 70 million foreigners who learn the Chinese language and culture overseas as well as the nearly 500,000 international students in China," said Li.

Representatives from 115 dealers in 68 countries and regions attended the conference.

Moutai, produced in Renhuai, southwestern China's Guizhou province, is often served on official occasions such as state banquets. Despite its high price (costing up from $215 per bottle), domestic demand for Moutai has always exceeded supply.