China's liquor makers saw sales grow by 31.08 percent to 97.03
billion yuan last year (about US$12.6 billion), while the number of
liquor makers dropped to 18,000.
Thanks to restructuring efforts in the industry, the number of
spirit enterprises dropped from 37,000 in 1989 to 18,000 at the end
of 2006, said Wang Yancai, head of the China Alcoholic Drinks
Industry Association.
The prices of spirits rose due to rising cost of raw materials
and the levy of consumption tax.
Maotai, a prestigious liquor maker in southwest China's Guizhou
Province, reported 5.3 billion yuan (about US$688.3 million) of
sales volume last year, compared with about 4.2 billion yuan (about
US$538.46 million) in the previous year.
(Xinhua News Agency February 13, 2007)