American whiskey eyes China as important growth market

With its increasingly urbanized population and rising high-income group, China is a major growth market for American whiskey, a US industry leader said.

"We've seen growth in China and our exports are up almost 15 percent compared to 2016," Christine LoCascio, senior vice-president of international affairs at the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, said in a recent interview.

"It's a growth market for us. It ranks as our 24th largest export market, but there are still a lot of opportunities to grow and we've been doing promotions there," LoCascio said on the sidelines of the national trade association's annual economic briefing in New York City.