Olive oil, wine, dairy products and, lately, bread and other bakery products seem to be gaining favor among Chinese consumers, offering considerable growth prospects for Greek exports.

Food industry experts have repeatedly argued that Greek producers should best target middle to high Chinese income earners as the market of that country as a whole tends to be too large for their potential. Recent data show that efforts to increase export penetration in China is meeting with some success. According to the Hellenic Export Promotion Organization (HEPO), Greek exports to China were 269 percent higher in the first quarter of 2012, year-on-year, totaling 115.35 million euros.

Virgin olive oil exports came to 1.19 million euros, making China Greece’s seventh-largest olive oil customer, after a 79 percent increase to 5,900 tons in 2011.

According to Greece’s Economic and Commercial Affairs Bureau in Shanghai, Greek wine exports to China rose 285 percent last year, to $1.95 million. France is by far the largest wine exporter to China, with a 48 percent share, followed by Australia and Chile.