A dramatic slowdown in the growth of wine exports to the mainland is forcing traders to come up with new business strategies to maintain Hong Kong's position at the centre of the trade in Asia.
Export growth to the mainland, which had been running at more than 100 per cent in early 2012, dropped to just 6 per cent in April, according to the latest figures from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
The drop-off has left Hong Kong traders, who rely heavily on mainland customers to sustain the city's reputation as Asia's wine hub, with a challenge.
In particular, sellers of premium wines, whose clients are mostly mainlanders, are being hit hard and urgently need to explore the market for more affordable wines.
In the first four months of this year, the mainland imported 128 million litres of wine from around the world, 8.8 per cent more year on year but well below last year's 44 per cent growth rate.
During the same period, wine exports from Hong Kong to the mainland - which accounted for 59 per cent of the city's total wine exports - doubled year on year to HK$421 million.