Alcohol consumption in China is migrating away from obligation and gifting and towards personal enjoyment.
China imported 11 percent less wine by volume in the first half of 2026, extending the country's long contraction in imported wine consumption even as shipment values edged up on more selective buying. According to China's General Administration of Customs, China imported 101.4 million liters in the first half of the year, down 11 percent on the same period in 2025, while value rose about 0.8 percent to approximately US$716 million, lifting the average import price 13.3 percent to US$7.07 per liter, the drinks business reported.
The context is sobering. Full-year 2025 volume was 207 million liters worth US$1.42 billion, a 72 percent slump from the 2017 peak volume, and the decline is continuing into 2026. The drinks business cites the May 2025 ban on alcohol at official meals, weaker business entertainment that has eroded banquet and gifting occasions, and economic pressure on general consumer demand as the drivers. "Alcohol consumption in China is migrating away from obligation and gifting and towards personal enjoyment." That is how Shirley Zhu, China research director at IWSR, described the shift.
Premium prices, but not premium demand
Consultancy Ascentium cautions against reading the higher average prices as a demand recovery. The price uplift comes from importers cutting back on the cheapest wines while shelf prices keep falling; alcohol prices dropped 1.9 percent in 2025, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, and discounting is widespread. Ahead of this year's Mid-Autumn Festival, merchants told Vino Joy News that customers were buying better bottles for roughly the same budget, while wine was losing its place as a festive gift. Bulk wines, the cheapest segment, made up more than a third of import volumes last year but only about 3 percent of value. Sparkling wine was the only category to grow in both volume and value so far this year.
Australia holds the lead, New Zealand gains share
Since China lifted its duties on Australian wine in March 2024, Australia has returned to being the leading supplier, with 41 percent of China's import value in 2025 and about 44 percent so far this year. But the post-tariff restocking phase is over. Australian export figures show shipments to mainland China fell 15 percent to AU$756 million in the first six months of this year, mirroring Wine Australia's finding that the market has entered a more mature, demand-led phase.
The clearest growth story belongs to New Zealand whites. China's import volume from New Zealand, 88 percent of which is white and mostly Sauvignon Blanc, rose 58.5 percent in 2025 and by 59.9 percent in the first half of 2026. France moved in the opposite direction: China's imports from France fell 18.8 percent in value and 36.1 percent in volume in 2025, while imports of bottled wine from the EU fell a further 16.6 percent in volume in the first half of this year.
For exporters, the message is that China is now a smaller, more selective and increasingly white-wine-oriented market. Premium positioning and varietal differentiation matter more than ever; the days of volume-led growth are gone, and the suppliers winning share are those aligned with how Chinese consumers actually drink now: personally, casually and with whites in the glass.