No cheer in liquor, beer price rises

THE price of Moutai, a well-known Chinese liquor distilled from fermented sorghum and wheat, rose an average of 30 yuan (US$3.95) in the past week.

Insiders say the price will continue to increase as the Chinese New Year approaches.

"It is hard to keep up supplies of the white wine, even though prices kept rising," a salesgirl at a Vanguard department store was quoted by the Daily Sunshine as saying Monday.

The rise in the price of white wine was due to rising grain prices over the past few months, said a wine wholesaler surnamed Nong at the Buji Farm Produce Wholesale Market.

“The cost of wine production increases as grain prices rise. Wine and brewery producers have also deliberately reduced production, causing a short supply of wine and beer,” Nong said.

Some retailers have received notice of a 15-percent price rise for Snow, a Chinese brand of beer made by China Resources Breweries Co. Ltd.

A price hike by breweries was inevitable, the report said, quoting an unidentified brewery marketing manager in Shenzhen.

Beer producers in China rely heavily on imported wheat, which accounts for half the total of beer production every year.

Statistics show the price for imported wheat from Australia increased from US$300 per ton to US$400 per ton in the past few months. This price rise will cause an additional 30-million-yuan cost for a factory with a production capacity of 200,000 kiloliters a year.