Baijiu dominates CNY alcohol consumption

The Chinese spirit, Baijiu,  is still the most popular alcohol choice among Chinese consumers when it comes to lunar New Year celebrations, a new report released by e-commerce giant Alibaba has revealed.

Chinese pouring Baijiu during banquets

Guizhou Province, home to the country’s famed Moutai, and Sichuan Province in southwestern China are the two top alcohol consumers among all provinces in China, according to the report, which looked at all consumer goods sold on Alibaba’s online platforms leading up to the Chinese New Year on 28 January.

The report found that consumers in the two provinces spent the most on alcohol compared with other food and drinks, although it did not reveal exact numbers.

Baijiu, with little surprise, was the go-to alcoholic beverage for Chinese New Year’s eve dinner (known as Nian Ye Fan in Chinese), and the top five Baijiu consuming provinces are Shandong, Jiangsu, Henan, Hunan and Zhejiang, based on another report by Chinese e-commerce news website, ebrun.com.

Consumers in Shandong, Beijing and Inner Mongolia, however, preferred beer. Tibet, Yunnan, Guangdong and Fujian Provinces opted for imported spirits, while consumers in Chongqing, Hubei, Jiangxi and Zhejiang Provinces poured more wine during Chinese New Year celebrations, the findings showed.

Tmall, the retail platform of Alibaba group, sold 380 million items of consumer goods from January 17 to 23 prior to the Chinese New Year. Consumer spending on clothes has dropped considerably over the years with more spending budgeted for food and drinks, the report noted.