China's spirits export value fell 33.23% to $627 million in the first nine months of 2026

China’s distilled spirits exports fell sharply in value in the first nine months of 2026, with overseas shipments bringing in about $312 million less than in the same period of 2025, according to sector data cited by the Chinese trade publication Huaxia Jiubao and republished by Sina on Tuesday, November 3.

From January to September, China exported 25.6 million liters of distilled spirits worth $627 million, the report said, citing information from the China Chamber of Commerce of Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products. Compared with the same period of 2025, export volume fell 8.36% and export value dropped 33.23%.

The gap between the decline in volume and the much steeper drop in value points to a broad fall in the average price of exported spirits. Based on the rounded figures in the report, China shipped about 2.3 million fewer liters than a year earlier, but the revenue loss was far larger in proportional terms.

Using those same rounded figures, the average export value fell to about $24.5 per liter from about $33.6 per liter in the first nine months of 2025. That implies a decline of roughly 27.1% in average value per liter.

The figures were presented as a separate reading for distilled spirits, apart from other alcoholic beverages. That distinction matters because it isolates a segment of China’s beverage exports that appears to have weakened not only in shipment volume but also in pricing or product mix.

The available breakdown does not show why the average export value fell so much. The report does not provide enough detail to determine whether the decline came from discounting, changes in destination markets, currency effects, or a larger share of lower-priced products in the export mix. The publication’s calculations on absolute changes and per-liter values are also based on rounded totals.

Even with that limitation, the numbers suggest a marked deterioration in export earnings for Chinese spirits makers in overseas markets during the January-to-September period. A drop of 8.36% in volume would normally point to softer demand or reduced shipments, but a 33.23% fall in value indicates a much deeper hit to the sector’s export revenue.

The data cited by Huaxia Jiubao came from industry information compiled by the Chinese chamber, and the November 3 report was published as a secondary account. It covered exports only, not imports.