Canada’s agricultural minister uncorked a bottle full of praise Wednesday for a Richmond winery, calling the business one of the standard bearers for Canadian exports to China.
Gerry Ritz got a personal, guided tour of Lulu Island Winery in east Richmond Wednesday morning from owner John Chang and said that while some food exporters have already gained a foothold in the massive Chinese marketplace, more work needs to be done to assist companies such as Chang’s to increase their exposure overseas.
“We want to make sure John has the ability to market into that area, and that our taxation and regulatory packages at the federal level are conducive to him for growing his business,” said Ritz who called Lulu Island a world class facility.
Ritz added that one of the reasons why Canadian products do well in markets such as China is this country’s reputation as a trusted supplier of quality goods, including wine.
Chang, who started Lulu Island Winery in 2009 said around 80 per cent of his production — made from grapes grown on 10 acres behind the winery, and another 100 acres in the Okanagan — is sent to China.
“John has been saying his export footprint is a tenth of one per cent,” Ritz said. “So, there’s lots of room to grow when it comes to the development of wine (exports).”
Much of that its targeted at a burgeoning middle class in China.
“The middle class in China is some 400 million and growing at the rate of our (Canadian) whole population every year,” Ritz said. “So, rather than have access to 20 million wine drinkers in Canada, John’s got access to 300 or 400 million in China — huge numbers.”
Helping pave that route to the market are companies such as Chang’s, Ritz said.
“They act very much as an ambassador,” he said. “And John has worked very hard to gain that place in the Chinese market. So, anyone who wants to begin (exporting to China) should come to John and send a day talking about what they need to do.”
