Analysis | Beer or baijiu? China’s drinkers become more quality conscious
Experts say the domestic beer market has dropped significantly by volume. But higher-quality brands and sales of traditional Chinese clear liquor, or baijiu, are bubbling away nicely
Asahi Group, Japan’s largest beer producer, is considering bailing out of its share in Tsingtao, one of China’s largest beer makers, in another clear sign that Chinese drinkers are moving upmarket.
Experts say the domestic beer market has dropped significantly by volume, as buyers opting to cut back on cheaper products. But higher-quality beer brands and sales of traditional Chinese clear liquor, or baijiu, are bubbling away nicely.
Total national beer production has seen three straight years of declines, before slightly rebounding 0.8 per cent in the first seven months of this year, according to recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
As those overall sales fall, however, demand for quality lager (imported and local), and traditional liquor such as Moutai, have continued strong.
Kweichow Moutai, the country’s biggest premium baijiu producer, toasted first-half gross profit margins of 90 per cent giving it a market value of nearly 700 billion yuan (US$106.4 billion).
