Region raises a glass to its wineries

The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, known as the Home of the Grape, is set to showcase its products as part of the Xinjiang Fine Wine Exhibition at the 2015 Eurasia Commodity and Trade Expo in August. The display is meant to showcase the wine industry in the region.

The expo is due to start on Aug 12 in Urumqi, Xinjiang’s capital, and is expected to play a key role in building Xinjiang into a core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt. The EACT Expo will run until Aug 16.

“There are 67 enterprises that have licenses to produce wine in Xinjiang, and some enterprises have developed a certain scale after many years. Various types of wineries have effectively boosted the development of the wine industry in Xinjiang,” says Jin Xiaoping, director of the Liquor Monopoly Management Bureau of the autonomous region.

According to data provided by the region’s forestry department, the area planted with wine grapes in Xinjiang is over 33,000 hectares. Xinjiang is the largest wine grape production area in China. Of the entire 33,000 hectares in wine grapes, about 70 percent can be made into wine. In 2014, the wine output of Xinjiang was about 30,000 tons, he says.

Xinjiang’s wine industry, however, is plagued by low output and a shortage of high-quality products, which restricts its development.

Jin says that the price of one ton of grape juice extracted for fermentation is around 7,000 to 8,000 yuan ($1,127 to $1,289), but the price of one ton of wine at, say, 50 yuan per bottle, would reach 200,000 to 300,000 yuan.

“It is difficult to support long-term development of the wine industry by selling only the raw ingredient, therefore, the situation has to change,” Jin says.

The Party committee and government of the Xinjiang autonomous region have instructed officials to hold the Xinjiang Fine Wine Exhibition at the 2015 EACT Expo. “So far, more than 50 companies of the 67 wine producers in Xinjiang have applied to participate,” Jin says.

Jin, who also is principal of the Xinjiang Fine Wine Exhibition Committee, says the wine industry is considered a sunrise industry and green industry of Xinjiang.

Under the guidance of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the construction of a core zone of the Silk Road Economic Belt in Xinjiang has brought new opportunities to the wine industry. The initiative refers to the economic belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which would use trade and investment to boost ties along ancient trade routes and elsewhere.

The regional Party committee and government have also proposed enlarging and strengthening the wine industry, and an emphasis of innovation in its development.

Jin says the wine exhibition is the first of its kind led by the Xinjiang region’s government. It is meant to fully display the characteristics of Xinjiang’s wine, vigorously promote its wine culture and the advantages of the region’s resources, and build an important platform for international communication and cooperation. It is also hoped it will attract investment.

The Xinjiang wine exhibition will take up about 1,110 square meters, with eight exhibition areas. During the exhibition, the first Wine Tasting Contest of Xinjiang will be held and well-known wine experts and mainstream wine media will be invited, in order to improve soft power and build a platform for Xinjiang’s wine enterprises to build their brand.

Other activities will also be held, including the 2015 Xinjiang Fine Wine Exhibition Forum, new product releases, meetings on famous and specialty wines, and cultural tours. To promote sales, the committee will also invite dealers, procurement missions and professional visitors for business negotiations.

The expo, to be held at the Urumqi Exhibition Center, is also attracting many foreign exhibitors. Two Russian regions, Altayskiy Kray and the Republic of Tatarstan, have announced they will join the exhibition, and have booked six booths each, according to the committee.

The Russian exhibitors are mostly engaged in agricultural products and food, travel, jewelry and the handicraft trade. Chinese exhibitors are mainly engaged in textiles and garments, agricultural products and food, jade jewelry, wine and other industries. China and Russia both hope to find suitable business partners through the expo.

The 42,000 sq m expo is divided into five areas — agricultural products and food; textiles and garments; jewelry, jade and handicrafts; overseas fine products; and Xinjiang fine wines. This will be the first time the expo has been held, and many companies from Central Asian countries and Belarus have also indicated they will attend.