Hong Kong’s premier wine and spirits fair, which aims to establish the SAR as the regional trading hub for alcoholic drinks, opened on Thursday. Boasting more than 600 exhibitors from around the world, the three-day International Wine and Spirits Fair will feature exhibitions, seminars, tastings and a mixology showdown at Wan Chai’s convention centre. And with the government recently relaxing duties for drinks with an alcoholic strength of 30 percent or more, exhibitors are hoping this development will bolster their global sales. “I’m certain Hong Kong is the best city and the best way for Chinese liquor to go abroad,” Keith Lau, a representative of a mainland spirits trading company said. “Maotai, Xi Jiu, or other brands, they have set up local companies in order to supply overseas [demand], so it is quite important that we have the right policy for the brands to go abroad.” Fellow exhibitor Julia Klimczak, who’s selling Scottish whisky, said she is expecting an increase in sales during this year's fair. Klimczak said she believes Hong Kong offers an ideal setting for promotion and networking. "There's a lot of international contacts and I'm very excited about the networking possibilities here in Hong Kong. It's incredible, and I believe we have people from all over the world." Teddy Tse, who works at a local wine and spirits distribution company also said he is expecting better sales this year, but said he hopes authorities could further relax duties. "The starting point at HK$100 is better because over 85 percent of the products is below HK$200, the import cost. Last year was good, so I think this year will be better because of the fruits of the Wine and Dine Festival." The government last month cut the duty on liquor with an alcohol content of over 30 percent and with an import price of more than HK$200 to 10 percent from 100 percent for the portion above HK$200. Also at the fair was Pieter Hermans, a local buyer. he said the fair is a lot smaller than it used to be. "Let's hope that due to the new spirit tariffs and all these types of things, Hong Kong will get on the map a little bit more and that the internal trade is starting to move again. I guess it's just the general economy that's also suffering a little bit at the moment," he said.
