Asia's largest bulk wine exhibition launches virtual event
WBWE Asia, the biggest event of its kind in China aimed at the bulk wine market, has spearheaded a new way of operating during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the launch of its virtual exhibition in July.
Enabling wineries around the world to establish direct contact with buyers through virtual communication, this online trading system will also benefit from what the organisers describe as “ultra screen resolution”.
Wineries will send their wines to Yantai in China where the event is being held via a maximum security system. The samples will then be displayed in the usual way and meetings conducted at individual winery’s stands where Chinese wine professionals will taste the wine, and aided by an English translation service, will be able to answer any questions and close deals with winery managers.
WBWE claims that the event will be well attended by visitors from across Asia, including buyers, consultants, and leading distribution companies. They will all receive information about participating wineries in advance.
“Right not it is too soon to be certain that the fairs of the future will follow this route, yet we cannot afford to run the risk of stopping exports while we wait to see what unfolds,” said the event organisers in a statement.
Wine imports into China accounted for 136m litres in the year to March 2020, only 5% less than the same period a year ago. And in the past three months, imports have surpassed 35.5m litres, compared to 37m litres during the same period in 2019.
There has been a signficant surge of imports from Argentina, while wines from New Zealand and Spain have also seen their exports to China increase. Imports of bag in box (BiB) wines was also noteworthy, with imports of these shifting up from 1.12m litres to 1.14m litres during the first quarter of the year.