China's wine import continued to grow in the first five months of this year, thanks largely to tariff-cuts, strong demand at home and high profits for dealers, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Between January and May, China bought 84.89 million liters of wine from abroad, a growth of 10.3 percent on the same period of last year. The arrivals were valued at 310 million U.S. dollars, up 49.1 percent.

Foreign-funded companies made up 64.4 percent, or 54.71 million liters, of the total arrivals, up 9.9 percent, and private businesses accounted for 16.7 percent, or 14.18 million liters, up 16.7 percent.

Of the total imports, 46.96 million liters, or 55.3 percent, came from Latin America. Around 9.72 million liters was bought from Argentina, up 21 times, and 27.69 million liters from the European Union, up 17.9 percent.

(Xinhua News Agency August 24, 2008)