A man looks at Moutai, the most popular Chinese white liquor in a bidding block in Nanchang, Jiangxi province.

By ZHONG HUI and LIN YIN

Shoppers are stalking up on bottles of Feitian Moutai after rumors started circulating that the liquor will see price hikes of 20 to 30 percent during the National Day holiday.

Prices for a bottle of the sought-after alcohol remain at about 1,580 yuan ($240) while at the same time last year it sold for only 989 yuan. Bottles are flying off the shelves despite the high price.

Earlier this month Xiangcai Securities issued a research report showed that at the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015), Moutai’s market value is expected to be more than 1 trillion yuan.

Now in Maotai Village of Guizhou province, the birthplace of Moutai liquor, capital from various sources are flowing in, pinning great hopes on the lucrative market.

And liquor businessmen from Zhejiang are one of the most “generous” investors.

Kweichow Moutai group, for example, has received a 12.6-billion contract at the Guiyang alcohol expo, and a lion’s share is coming from Li Ronggen, a veteran liquor businessman from Jiaxing, Zhejiang province.

With an initial investment of 5.8 billion yuan, accounting for nearly one-third of the company’s annual revenue, Li said he wanted to build a high-end liquor brand through the wine producing center resources. He added that he was very optimistic about Moutai’s future.

A local winery’s sales manager, Ye Xiulan, said that this month she has received a dozen calls from Zhejiang, hoping to buy the right of regional distribution.

According to statistics, the investment funds that entered Renhuai, another city in Guizhou famous for its wine production, have reached 100 billion yuan and it is expected to reach 500 billion in the 12th Five-Year Plan period.

Moutai’s high profits have encouraged other types of liquor companies to begin working with the successful liquor.

For Zhejiang wine businessmen, one negative factor is money.

“In simple terms, the general small businesses have no strength to invest in advertising on CCTV,” said Ren Daodao, adding that the capital injection will revitalize the brand. Once they become popular, he said they will face the challenge from Moutai and Wuliangye.

Now Li has registered the “ancestral” trademark, established the Ancestral Spirits Co, Ltd, and started selling wine in liquor stores.

With the successful operation of wine, he seemed very confident. “Selected to good quality liquors is a good start; of course, the bigger problem is yet to come,” he said.