“It is crucial for us to keep on promoting the unrivalled benefits of cork stopper and its value to wine to Chinese wine lovers, bearing in mind that China is going to be one of the most important wine markets in the world very soon,” said Carlos de Jesus, Operational Director of InterCork program of APCOR. InterCork is an ambitious international marketing program for cork. The latest round of InterCork has just started that covers ten major markets including China.

According to the statistics of General Administration of Customs of China, some 638 million liters of wines were imported to China in 2016, representing a year-on-year increase of 15%. Vinexpo predicted that by 2020, China’s wine sales will surpass France and the UK, and grow to a total value of US$21.7 billion, trailing only behind the US’ US$38.6 billion.

APCOR also acknowledges the positive signal from China market to cork stopper. Effective January 1, 2017, the Chinese government has reduced the tariffs imposed on imported natural cork stoppers and agglomerated cork stoppers from 8% and 8.4% to 4%.  Giving the local wine makers a nudge on the benefits of cork stoppers on top of the bonanza of lowering buying costs will encourage wider adoption in China.      

“Cork stopper is an integral part of the wine culture with unrivalled benefits in preserving wines, environmental friendliness and aesthetic values. The intimate bond between cork stopper and wine has been established for centuries. We sum these up into three words: Culture, Nature and Future.

Nowadays those best of the breed wineries in the world use cork stopper as their preferred closure – That’s no question about it. If a consumer chooses a bottle of wine that uses cork stopper, he or she will get an assurance of the quality of the wine purchased.

According to a market survey conducted in China by CTR Market Research, 85%* of consumers believe that wines sealed with cork are better quality. What we want to achieve is that no just the current but also the next generations of wine lovers in China will support cork stopper,” Carlos de Jesus noted.

He introduced that the communications strategy of APCOR in China is to outreach to all the stakeholders in the wine consumption chain that include importers, influencers, retailers, e-commerce facilitators and consumers. A variety of communication channels ranging from trade fairs, partner collaboration, industry/consumer education, e-commerce conventional to social media will be employed.

“China is very advanced in digital communications and e-commerce. Therefore our latest marketing efforts have put these elements into serious consideration to ensure that APCOR will successfully engage with all the stakeholders in this market,” Carlos de Jesus said.

One of the its first outreach initiatives is to participate in the forthcoming China Food & Drinks Fair that will be staged in Chengdu from March 23 – 25, 2017 (Thursday to Saturday).

“Chengdu is the economic hub of southwestern China with a growing appreciation of wine culture. Through taking part into the China Food & Drinks Fair, APCOR would have an opportunity to showcase the benefits of cork stopper to relevant stakeholders in this region,” Carlos de Jesus concluded.

APCOR’s booth at the China Food & Drinks Fair
Booth No. 3H118B, Wine and Liquor
Chengdu Century City New International Convention and Exhibition Center
No. 198 Shiji City Road
Tianfu New District of Chengdu

*Source: Research on the Consumption Behaviors & Preferences of Chinese Wine Consumers, 2014, CT

Portuguese Cork Association

The Portuguese Cork Association (APCOR) is the only national trade association representing the cork processing industry. It was founded in 1956, in the north of Portugal, in Santa Maria de Lamas, Municipality of Santa Maria da Feira, at the heart of the cork industry. APCOR currently has 265 member companies which together account for 80 per cent of the national cork production and more than 85 per cent of cork exports. These companies operate in all of the industries sub-sectors-preparation, processing and marketing.