Chengdu Food and Drinks Fair opens with promise to tackle 'copycat' wines

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The biggest food and wine fair in China, the Chengdu Food and Drinks Fair, opened today (24th March), with an official promising 'increased censorship'.

Image: Previous Chengdu Food and Drinks Fair, credit LI Demei
Image: Previous Chengdu Food and Drinks Fair, credit LI Demei

The 94th the Spring China (Chengdu) Food and Drinks Fair (Tang Jiu Hui) opens today in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

This year the fair is set to cover 128,000 square metres of space. 3000 exhibitors of the food and drinks business from 40 countries are expected to participate.

Copycats of famous wines have been troubling the biggest food and drinks fair in China. These wines were seen exhibited alongside the authentic products last year, carrying very similar label to famous producers including Penfolds and Petrus, but many were lawfully registered in China.

‘We have strictly checked the qualifications of our exhibitors, and we will ask them to sign agreements to protect intellectual properties, and to obey related laws and regulations before allowing them to exhibit,’ GU Ping, head of the organising committee of Tang Jiu Hui, told local media le.com, when asked how would the fair tackle copycats of famous wines this year.

‘Besides, we have set up a service centre and a “complaint reception area”, dealing with all kind of reports (on copycat products).’

‘We encourage the audience to observe, and speak to the exhibitors after the show opens (to see how we’re doing),’ said Gu.

This year the percentage of wine exhibitors (amongst all alcoholic beverages) has ‘slightly declined’ as the fair has ‘introduced an imported beer section’, introduced GU Ping.

Last year 24% of the total exhibition area of the Chengdu Tang Jiu Hui was devoted to wine and spirits, making revenue of CNY11.26bn, according to the organiser.

Read about this year's fair:

Terry Xu: A mini guide to Tang Jiu Hui, the biggest domestic wine fair in China

Read about Tang Jiu Hui in previous years

·‘Chinese wine market has hit the bottom’, say trade professionals at CFDF

·LI Demei: The changes brought by wine at the China Food and Drinks Fair

·LI Demei: The Chengdu fair: A truly Chinese exhibition

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