China’s Big Brand Baijiu-Makers Have a Toast-Worthy First Half

By Hu Jingyi, Sun Yanran, Ding Yi and Flynn Murphy

At the China International Consumer Goods Expo in Haikou, Hainan province, visitors check out the Maotai Group booth on July 27. Photo: VCG

While continual Covid-19 outbreaks continue to make their mark on earnings season, one commodity is still raking in cash: top-shelf baijiu.

By Caixin’s count, 19 listed manufacturers of the world’s most popular alcoholic beverage had reported their first-half earnings as of Monday, with 16 posting growth in both revenue and profit.

Shrugging off years of official probes into the notoriously graft-plagued industry, luxury brands like Moutai and Wuliangye made a head-spinning amount of money in the first six months of 2022, including from their “sub-high-end” offerings in the 1,000 yuan ($146) range.