Slovenia and China signed a memorandum on cooperation in the field of winemaking and wine tourism. The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Industry of Slovenia Dejan Židan met with his Chinese counterpart Gregory So, the Secretary for Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. They signed a memorandum on cooperation in the field of winemaking. Both countries will develop wine trade and strengthen cooperation as well as promote wine tourism.
According to Dejan Židan, the deepening of relations between the countries was the result of the initiative of winemakers who want to expand the presence of their products in the markets of China and Asia as a whole. Hong Kong is an access point to the Chinese market, while it can use the advantageous geographical location of Slovenia to export its goods to the European market. Hong Kong, together with New York, is one of the world’s two Wine Auction venues. In 2016, Hong Kong imported wine worth 1.4 billion euros, while the total wine import to China made a little more than 0.5 billion euros.
Gregory So emphasizes that with an average consumption rate of 5.8 and 1.8 litres of wine per capita in Hong Kong and China, respectively, they have a significant potential to expand the presence of high-quality Slovenian wines. Representatives of both countries in an informal conversation behind closed doors discussed other topical issues mainly related to the economy and tourism. According to available information, Dejan Židan confirmed interest in the investments in Asian countries. Gregory So expressed similar interest in the possibility of investing in Slovenia.
Source: gorenjskiglas.si
