Hong Kong's cider sippers profit from apple brew's global growth wave
Consumption of the drink is predicted to rise over 20 per cent by end of decade, and countries not previously known for cider making Cambodia, Sweden, and New Zealand are broadening choice for its fans
Cider and summer go together, particularly in Britain, which is the largest market for the drink in the world, as well as being a major producer.
In recent years, however, it has become an international growth category. According to research company the Canadean Group, international consumption will grow by about 640 million litres per year to three billion litres by 2020.
Much of that growth will be outside Britain, and although Hong Kong's contribution to it will probably be modest, a glance at shelves increasingly well stocked with cider in our supermarkets, and the lists offered by bottle shops and pubs specialising in more niche products, suggests that we too are doing our bit.
Also paying close attention to the growth in this area is a report published last month by the Rabobank banking and financial services group, in which analyst Marc Soccio says the growth of cider poses a "threat" to wine and beer.
"The impact might still be at the margin, but wine companies need to seriously consider what might lead their current and future consumers astray as cider once again enters the big leagues in key markets at home and abroad," he says.