張裕擬增加從歐洲進口葡萄酒

China’s biggest listed winemaker is preparing to ramp up imports from Spain, France and other European countries amid expectations that wine consumption in the world’s second-largest economy will continue to grow at a blistering pace.

中國最大的上市葡萄酒釀造商正在準備從西班牙、法國和其他歐洲國家增加進口。目前各方預計世界第二大經濟體的葡萄酒消費量將繼續快速增長。

Changyu Pioneer, the listed wine and spirits group whose Chinese vineyards cover more acres than all of Burgundy, already owns two wineries in France and last year bought a bodega in Spain.

張裕(Changyu Pioneer)是一家上市的葡萄酒和烈酒集團，其在中國的葡萄園佔地面積超過法國勃艮第的所有葡萄園。該集團已在法國擁有兩家葡萄酒廠，去年還收購了西班牙的一家酒廠。

It ships some 3m bottles a year from its Spanish property and 1m from France — but aims to increase annual imports from its European wineries to 20m bottles over the next three to five years.

該公司每年從西班牙酒廠裝運約300萬瓶葡萄酒，從法國酒廠裝運100萬瓶，但目標是在未來三到五年把每年從歐洲進口的葡萄酒數量提高到2000萬瓶。

Changyu’s business plan also foresees the acquisition of two wineries in the Bordeaux region — one on the left bank and one on the right bank of the Gironde. The expansion drive comes amid expectations that Beijing will eventually change labelling restrictions in a way that incentivises imports from Chinese-owned wineries abroad.

張裕的業務計劃還預計在波爾多地區收購兩家葡萄酒廠，一家位於吉倫特河口(Gironde estuary)左岸，另一家位於右岸。這一擴張努力的背景是，外界預計北京方面將最終改革標籤限制，以激勵從海外的中資葡萄酒廠進口。

“Right now, China is the fifth largest wine consumer in the world,” Sun Jian, the deputy general manager at Changyu, said during a visit to Spain. “We believe in the future it will be the number one.

“目前，中國是世界第五大葡萄酒消費國，”張裕副總經理孫健在訪問西班牙時表示。“我們相信未來它將是最大消費國。

“There are currently only 38m wine drinkers in China. We think that number will rise at least tenfold.”

“目前中國只有3800萬葡萄酒飲用者。我們認爲這個數字會上升至少十倍。”

Mr Sun predicted that production of Marqués del Atrio, the Spanish winemaker bought by Changyu last year, would double over the coming five years — with much of the additional output destined for China.

孫健預測，張裕去年收購的西班牙釀酒商“愛歐公爵”(Marqués del Atrio)的產量將在未來五年翻番，其中大部分新增產量預計將供應中國市場。

“Spanish wines have a good image in China. They are seen as good but reasonably priced.”

“西班牙葡萄酒在中國有着良好的形象。它們被視爲好酒，但價格合理。”

China has become an increasingly important market for European winemakers, and one of the main sources of sales growth.

中國已成爲歐洲釀酒商日益重要的市場，也是銷售增長的主要來源之一。

Exports of Spanish wine to China, for example, have risen by an average 57 per cent every year since 2000, reaching 78m litres last year.

例如，自2000年以來，西班牙對華葡萄酒出口年均增長57%，去年達到7800萬升。

“China is now our seventh-biggest market. Growth rates have been extraordinary — faster than for any other market over the past 15 years,” said Rafael del Rey, the director of Spain’s OEMV wine research body.

“中國現在是我們第七大市場。增長率非同尋常，在過去15年裏比其他任何市場都快，”西班牙葡萄酒市場觀測局(OEMV)局長拉斐爾.德爾雷伊(Rafael del Rey)表示。

France is the biggest exporter of foreign wine to China, followed by Chile. Spain is the third-largest supplier of wine, just ahead of Australia.

法國是中國最大的進口葡萄酒來源國，其次是智利。西班牙是中國第三大葡萄酒供應國，其後是澳大利亞。

Changyu says it is also eager to boost wine sales in the other direction, and predicts sales in Europe of its own Chinese-made wines to reach 2m bottles next year.

張裕表示，它也渴望提振另一個方向的葡萄酒銷售，預計其在華釀造的葡萄酒的歐洲銷量明年將達到200萬瓶。

In a bid to bolster the group’s presence in Europe — and that of Marqués del Atrio in international markets — Changyu signed a sponsorship deal with the Spanish football league this week. The amount of money that Changyu is paying to La Liga was not disclosed.

爲了加強集團在歐洲的知名度，以及“愛歐公爵”在國際市場上的知名度，張裕上週與西班牙足球聯賽簽署了贊助協議。張裕將向西班牙足球甲級聯賽(La Liga)支付的贊助金額沒有披露。