China mulls plan to boost wine industry

A draft mapping out the development of China's wine industry was put under a panel discussion by experts this week, China Securities Journal reported Friday. The draft aims to promote the healthy development of China's wine industry, a burgeoning industry facing fierce global competition, the report said. The draft, together with a standard for market access requirements, will be improved with the help of experts and will soon be introduced, the report said, citing Wang Liming, head of the consumer goods industry department with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Wang made the remarks at the panel discussion held on Tuesday, as attending experts suggested that government departments should strengthen coordination and increase support to promote the industry. The government targets 830 billion yuan (131.33 billion U.S. dollars) in sales for the liquor-making industry by 2015, or an annual growth rate of over 10 percent, according to a five-year plan on the country's food industry released by the MIIT. According to this plan, the government also aims to double the output of liquors made from fruits, especially grapes -- a goal seen by market insiders as a direction for the future development of the wine industry.