Tequila makers heady with China hope

MEXICO CITY - Mexican tequila distillers are looking to expand their exports in China, currently the alcohol's second-largest market in the world where overall consumption has significant room for growth.

"The tequila market may not be very big in terms of the size of the Chinese population, but the Chinese population makes up a big percentage of the world," said Citlali Guizar, manager of Tequila JG.

The company's first shipment of 10,000 bottles of white tequila has made its way to the Chinese megacity of Shanghai, leaving the port of Manzanillo on the Mexican Pacific Coast in late August.