A seminar titled ‘Hong Kong-Your Business Partner’ was held at the Croatian Chamber of Economy. It featured a presentation by Michael Katzmarck, marketing manager of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council office in Frankfurt, on business opportunities for Croatian companies, with an emphasis on the placement of wine in the Hong Kong and Chinese markets.
The main advantage for Croatian wine exporters in Hong Kong is that tariffs on alcoholic beverages were abolished in 2008, and there is also no VAT or sales tax on alcoholic beverages. Hong Kong is home to the Wine Exchange Center in Asia, and after successfully entering the Hong Kong market, traders have the opportunity to expand the distribution of their products throughout Asia. An ideal venue for the first presentation of Croatian wines could be the ‘Wine and Dine Festival’ in Hong Kong, which will be attended by over 80,000 people and takes place from October 28 to November 30 this year. Although China does not have a developed wine-drinking culture, European products are considered very high quality in China, and therefore, price is not a concern when it comes to premium quality products, claims Katzmarck.
Croatian exports to Hong Kong increased by 11 percent compared to 2009, while imports decreased, stated Andrea Grubišić from the International Relations Sector of the Croatian Chamber of Economy. We mostly export raw materials to Hong Kong, such as hides and furs. However, despite the increase in our exports, in the first 6 months of this year, it amounted to five million dollars, while imports from Hong Kong were 16 million dollars. To balance these figures, it is important to study the Hong Kong and Chinese markets and try to achieve a significant breakthrough for our products.
