(Yicai) Nov. 19 -- The UK’s Diageo, Frances’ Camus Cognac and other global whiskey makers are optimistic about the China market despite tumbling sales in the first nine months due to the country’s huge growth potential.

China’s whiskey imports sank 30 percent in the nine months ended Sept. 30 from a year earlier, after many years of fast growth, according to the latest data.

China's whiskey market is developing quickly, Atul Chhaparwal, managing director at Diageo China, told Yicai. China accounts for one quarter of the world’s alcohol market and there is still huge growth potential, he added.

Diageo opened its first whiskey distillery in China last week. Chief Executive Officer Debra Crew and other executives attended the inauguration ceremony of the single malt plant in Eryuan, southwestern Yunnan province, where they pledged an additional CNY800 million (USD110.5 million) to develop the distillery over the next nine years.

Other whiskey giants continue to be bullish about the Chinese market. France’s Camus Cognac started building a whiskey distillery together with some Chinese partners in Anhui province in November last year.

And France’s Pernod Ricard showcased whiskeys from its factory in Sichuan province at the seventh China International Import Expo that kicked off earlier this month. Chinese rice wine maker Langjiu and brewery Tsingtao also plan to expand into whiskey.

Overseas whiskey giants are trying to replicate the success they had in the Japanese market after the second World War, industry insiders told Yicai. Once they combined unique production techniques with Japanese flavors and other cultural characteristics, Japan’s whiskey sector logged explosive growth and the alcohol started to be exported worldwide.

The low penetration rate of Western alcohol in China’s liquor market is mostly due to different local tastes, said Yin Kai, founder of brand manager Chao Yin Hui. So foreign distillers such as London-based Diageo are hoping to localize their products in order to break the ice with the country's new generation of consumers and achieve growth.

Diageo's distillery in Eryuan is experimenting with new raw materials such as wine barrels made of Yunnan oak and different production techniques, Crew said. The successful development of liquors with unique local characteristics will enable the firm to expand its footprint in the China market and might even bring the possibility of exporting China-made whiskeys overseas.

The China factor is the most distinctive character of the whiskeys being produced at Pernod Ricard's site in Sichuan province, said Chief Distiller Yang Tao. In the future, there will be more innovations based on local customs, natural products and culture, he added.

Whiskey giants' attempts to penetrate the China market are only to be expected, Yin said. But given that the spirit needs a long time to mature, it will take time to know if the locally made whiskey products will meet their expectations eventually.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor