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| No.10 October, 2010 |
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New HK-Portugal Wine Agreement |
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 Hong Kong has signed a new agreement that will boost wine industry cooperation with Portugal, creating potential opportunities for further growth of Hong Kong’s status as an international wine distribution hub.
Hong Kong's Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mrs Rita Lau signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Co-operation in Wine-related Business (MOU) with the visiting Minister for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries of Portugal, Mr Antonio Serrano on October 22.
Mrs Lau said the MOU with Portugal would create new opportunities for co-operation between the two places.
"There is clearly great potential for producers, exporters, distributors and retailers to introduce wine and wine-associated products and services to Hong Kong and throughout Asia," Mrs Lau said.
The agreement also includes a special component for Portuguese food specialties such as cheese, olive oil and related food items which were ideal accompaniments to wine.
"This not only reflects the importance of food pairing in wine tasting, but also highlights the knowledge and expertise we have in matching different wines with Asian cuisine," she added.
Mrs Lau said that Hong Kong has been making the most of its strengths in logistics, tourism and financial services to develop as a wine trading and distribution hub for Asia and had become the world's second largest wine auction centre since abolition of wine import duty in 2008.
"The value of total wine imports into Hong Kong surged by 80 per cent in 2008 and a further 40 per cent year-on-year in 2009," she said.
"Remember, this was against the backdrop of the global financial crisis. In the first quarter of 2010, the value of our wine imports reached US$500 million, up 73 per cent compared with the same period last year."
The government has introduced a number of new measures to support and consolidate Hong Kong’s status as the wine hub in Asia. These include streamlined customs procedures, trade and investment promotion, manpower training and education, a new wine storage certification scheme and combating counterfeit products.
Since August 2008, Hong Kong has entered into similar wine co-operation agreements with France, Spain, Australia, Italy, New Zealand and the United States, as well as the wine producing regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy in France and Oregon and Washington states in the United States.
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