张裕拟增加从欧洲进口葡萄酒

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.

中国最大的上市葡萄酒酿造商正在准备从西班牙、法国和其他欧洲国家增加进口。目前各方预计世界第二大经济体的葡萄酒消费量将继续快速增长。

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.

张裕(Changyu Pioneer)是一家上市的葡萄酒和烈酒集团，其在中国的葡萄园占地面积超过法国勃艮第的所有葡萄园。该集团已在法国拥有两家葡萄酒厂，去年还收购了西班牙的一家酒厂。

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.

该公司每年从西班牙酒厂装运约300万瓶葡萄酒，从法国酒厂装运100万瓶，但目标是在未来三到五年把每年从欧洲进口的葡萄酒数量提高到2000万瓶。

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.

张裕的业务计划还预计在波尔多地区收购两家葡萄酒厂，一家位于吉伦特河口(Gironde estuary)左岸，另一家位于右岸。这一扩张努力的背景是，外界预计北京方面将最终改革标签限制，以激励从海外的中资葡萄酒厂进口。

“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，中国是世界第五大葡萄酒消费国，”张裕副总经理孙健在访问西班牙时表示。“我们相信未来它将是最大消费国。

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

“目前中国只有3800万葡萄酒饮用者。我们认为这个数字会上升至少十倍。”

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.

孙健预测，张裕去年收购的西班牙酿酒商“爱欧公爵”(Marqués del Atrio)的产量将在未来五年翻番，其中大部分新增产量预计将供应中国市场。

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

“西班牙葡萄酒在中国有着良好的形象。它们被视为好酒，但价格合理。”

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

中国已成为欧洲酿酒商日益重要的市场，也是销售增长的主要来源之一。

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年以来，西班牙对华葡萄酒出口年均增长57%，去年达到7800万升。

“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.

“中国现在是我们第七大市场。增长率非同寻常，在过去15年里比其他任何市场都快，”西班牙葡萄酒市场观测局(OEMV)局长拉斐尔.德尔雷伊(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.

法国是中国最大的进口葡萄酒来源国，其次是智利。西班牙是中国第三大葡萄酒供应国，其后是澳大利亚。

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.

张裕表示，它也渴望提振另一个方向的葡萄酒销售，预计其在华酿造的葡萄酒的欧洲销量明年将达到200万瓶。

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.

为了加强集团在欧洲的知名度，以及“爱欧公爵”在国际市场上的知名度，张裕上周与西班牙足球联赛签署了赞助协议。张裕将向西班牙足球甲级联赛(La Liga)支付的赞助金额没有披露。