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The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, visited the 8th Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre today (November 5).
Held from November 5 to 7, the fair has attracted more than 1,000 exhibitors from over 30 countries and regions to showcase distinctive wines and spirits from all over the world. Among them, Portugal has this year become the partner country for the first time while Ireland and Kazakhstan are new participants at the fair.
Mr So first toured the booth set up by the Customs and Excise Department and listened to an update on the customs facilitation measures for wine entering the Mainland market through Hong Kong, which have been extended from designated ports in Shenzhen and Guangzhou to all ports in the Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Shenzhen customs regions. He then visited the exhibition zones of the major wine-producing regions. He met with exhibitors to learn about their sales situation and exchanged views with them on Hong Kong's positioning as a regional wine trading hub.
"Hong Kong, as the duty-free hub for wine in Asia and the gateway to the growing wine market on the Mainland, will continue to be in the best position to bring wine from all over the world into the Mainland market," Mr So said.
"After years of effort by the Government and the wine industry, Hong Kong's wine trade and related business have developed rapidly and brought substantial economic benefits to Hong Kong," he added.¡@
Hong Kong's wine sector has registered substantial growth since the removal of all wine duties in 2008. In 2014, the total value of wine imports and re-exports stood at $8.4 billion and $2.49 billion respectively, rising 4.3-fold and 3.2-fold compared with 2007.
In the first three quarters of this year, the value of wine imports exceeded $6.5 billion, increasing by about 17 per cent compared with the same period last year. The value of wine re-exports is $2.78 billion for the same period, a rise of 88 per cent year on year.
Ends/Thursday, November 5, 2015
Issued at HKT 20:27
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