China Looks At Walla Walla Wine

China Looks At Walla Walla Wine. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

The Walla Walla Wine Alliance recently hosted Chinese trade officials who are looking at northwest wines. Duane Wollmuth, Executive Director of the Wine Alliance explains.

WOLLMUTH: The Hong Kong Trade Development Council and then also two groups, one from San Francisco and one from Los Angeles both representing Hong Kong; one was more the Hong Kong government and then the other representatives were more on the trade side and they have been very aggressive in working with the western states and especially Washington in importing agricultural products and other good into Hong Kong from Washington and one of those items of course is Washington wine.

The representatives were hoping to have the Walla Walla wine industry attend a large show in Hong Kong.

WOLLMUTH: And if they’re not already exporting into Hong Kong to try to get them to do so. Hong Kong population is now a great gateway for mainland China. Hong Kong has eliminated their tariffs and a lot of the other barriers that existed before so it’s really opened up that marketplace and then also mainland China to get products through Hong Kong to mainland China.

Wollmuth says they discussed with the wineries some of their programs and what it would take to get their wines exported to China. Many of the Walla Walla Valley wineries are extremely small and don’t wholesale much beyond the borders of the state. We’ll talk more with Duane Wollmuth tomorrow regarding this opportunity.

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.