Moutai price drop temporary

Guiyang (CNS) -- The market price for China's most famous liquor brand Kweichow Moutai (or Guizhou Maotai) dropped recently, and a company employee has claimed the drop is just temporary and no adjustment for its factory gate price is in sight.

In just three days, a bottle of Feitian Moutai - Moutai has two logos, Feitian and Five Star - with an alcohol content of 53% by volume, fell from 1,900 yuan (about US$ 300) to 1,519 yuan, reported CNS during a visit Tuesday to an exclusive Moutai shop in Guiyang, capital of Moutai's home province of Guizhou.

The price fall is almost universal at the retail level, a salesperson at the exclusive store said, and the retail end adjustment is a temporary measure during this period of slack sales, an insider at Moutai told the CNS.

It was reported that Moutai is planning to raise its factory gate price in April; that of the 53% Feitai Moutai for instance, by 200 yuan. No official statement has been made in this respect, however.

Moutai's limited production and fine quality, not to mention favorable provincial policies, guarantee ample space for future price hikes, a liquor industry expert told CNS.