Hong Kong saw strong growth in its wine importation in 2021, rising by 41% over a year ago.
Data from the Census and Statistics Department showed that Hong Kong imported a total of HK$10.6 billion wines or around US$1.3 billion wines from overseas.
The bulk of its wine imports came from France, which value jumped by 34% year on year to HK$6.5 billion.
The increase in total imports can also be attributed to the upturn in Australian wines, which more than doubled last year to HK$1.9 billion. Analysts said wine exporters from Australia used Hong Kong as a “backdoor” where they could still deliver wines to mainland China.
Imported wines from the United Kingdom also climbed by 24% to HK$849 million.
American wines, which were the fourth-biggest wine imports in Hong Kong, declined in 2021 by 15% to a value of HK$335 million.
Completing the list of Hong Kong’s top five wine imports, Italian wines posted growth of 34% year on year, valued at HK$280 million.
In terms of category, red wines remained as Hong Kong’s most imported wine, growing by 41% last year to HK$9.3 billion. It was followed by champagnes, which also expanded by 45% to HK$761 million.
White wines imported to Hong Kong went up 38% to HK$446 million. Imported port wines and sherries also rose by 57% and 135%, respectively.
In December alone, Hong Kong purchased a total of HK$850 million imported wines, which was 10% lesser compared to the same month in the previous year.
Hong Kong’s Top 5 Wine Exporters in 2021 vs 2020
| Rank | Country | Value in 2021 | Value in 2020 | % Change |
| 1 | France | HK$6,513,606,000 | HK$4,875,785,000 | +34% |
| 2 | Australia | HK$1,906,055,000 | HK$823,976,000 | +131% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | HK$849,317,000 | HK$687,010,000 | +24% |
| 4 | United States | HK$335,722,000 | HK$395,404,000 | -15% |
| 5 | Italy | HK$280,801,000 | HK$208,835,000 | +34% |
| Total | HK$10,601,679,000 | HK$7,510,348,000 | +41% |
Wine Categories in 2021 vs 2020
| Bottled Wine Size | Value in 2021 | Value in 2020 | % Change |
| Red | HK$9,289,595,000 | HK$6,597,809,000 | +41% |
| Champagne | HK$761,127,000 | HK$523,227,000 | +45% |
| White | HK$446,050,000 | HK$322,459,000 | +38% |
| Port | HK$6,449,000 | HK$4,104,000 | +57% |
| Sherry | HK$916,000 | HK$390,000 | +135% |
Hong Kong’s Top 5 Wine Exporters in December 2021 vs 2020
| Rank | Country | Value in 2021 | Value in 2020 | % Change |
| 1 | France | HK$491,438,000 | HK$579,996,000 | -15% |
| 2 | Australia | HK$166,017,000 | HK$181,154,000 | -8% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | HK$95,114,000 | HK$68,455,000 | +39% |
| 4 | Italy | HK$22,568,000 | HK$20,202,000 | +12% |
| 5 | Switzerland | HK$14,304,000 | HK$6,852,000 | +109% |
| Total | HK$848,622,000 | HK$944,690,000 | -10% |
Wine Categories in December 2021 vs 2020
| Bottled Wine Size | Value in 2021 | Value in 2020 | % Change |
| Red | HK$793,300,000 | HK$856,212,000 | -7% |
| Champagne | HK$14,186,000 | HK$47,279,000 | -70% |
| White | HK$34,739,000 | HK$34,912,000 | = |
| Port | HK$278,000 | HK$336,000 | -17% |
| Sherry | HK$26,000 | HK$18,000 | +44% |
