Chinese-French wine merchant Arsen Zhao says business remains strong in Paris, but he is welcoming far fewer customers from Asia than before.
“We’ve seen a much sharper drop in customers from China,” Zhao said. “Consumers are trading down, while large volumes of European wine imported previously have yet to be sold, leaving inventories high and weighing on new orders.”
As demand has weakened and unsold inventory has piled up, prices have come under pressure. “Some high-end French wines are now selling for less in China than in France,” he said.
Zhao is among a growing number of wine merchants shipping fewer bottles to China – formerly one of the industry’s most promising markets.
Demand has withered as consumers tighten their purse strings amid weaker income growth, drinking habits shift and Beijing tightens its scrutiny over lavish banquets and official entertaining.
By volume, China’s bottled wine imports from the European Union fell 16.6 per cent year on year in the first half of 2026, according to Chinese customs data, with their value dropping 7.9 per cent to US$251 million.
Shipments from Spain fell 24.9 per cent, by volume, those from Italy were down 17.7 per cent and France witnessed a fall of 14.3 per cent.
The retreat has been years in the making. China’s per-capita wine consumption peaked in the mid-2010s, while wine sales plunged 47 per cent between 2019 and 2022, compared with declines of 17 per cent for spirits and 9 per cent for beer, according to a study published last year by economist Kym Anderson.
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