Wuliangye to expand production capacity

Tang Qiao, CEO of Wuliangye Group, said the company is going to strengthen its capacity for annual production and do more to explore the overseas market.

Tang, a deputy to the National People's Congress from Southwest China's Sichuan province, said this year that the company, a maker of liquor and a variety of other products, plans to increase its yearly production from its current 200,000 tons to 300,000 tons.

"Wuliangye has maintained its production capacity of 200,000 tons since 2000,” Tang said. “But this year it will expand its production capacity to meet the increasing market demand.”

He said he doesn’t consider Wuliangye to be a luxury drink, since more ordinary people can afford to buy more than 80 percent of its sub-brands.

Tang said the company has striven to export more products to foreign countries over the next five years to strengthen the influence of Wuliangye's brand throughout the world, but said there are still large impediments to taking full advantage of the world market.

"Foreigners are not completely in love with the unique flavor of this traditional Chinese drink because they think it’s too strong and pungent."

To cater for international consumers, Tang said, Wuliangye should take various steps, such as changing its products’ taste to give it a softer edge.