Tanzanian grape farmer rejoices as local winery plans to tap Chinese market

By Xinhua

DODOMA,June 29 (Xinhua) -- In a 1.5-hectare vineyard 39 kilometers north of 
the Tanzanian capital of Dodoma, 67-year-old grape farmer William Swai 
has recently been busy checking the grapes, which will be fully ripe and
 picked to make delicious wine by mid-July.Tanzania, 
despite not having an international reputation as a wine producer, is 
home to the second-largest wine-producing region in sub-Saharan Africa 
after South Africa.Swai said that the opening of 
international markets, including the Chinese market, to locally made 
wines will boost the production of the country's wineries.Alko 
Vintages Company Limited is a Tanzanian company that makes several 
brands of wine. Four years ago, the Tanzanian company began working with
 a Chinese company based in China's Shandong to export wine products to 
China.Some wine brands produced by Alko will be 
displayed at the third edition of the China-Africa Economic and Trade 
Expo slated for June 29 to July 2 in Changsha, the capital of central 
China's Hunan Province.