On January 3, the wholesale price of 53-degree Feitian Maotai with 500 milliliters once again dropped below 1499 yuan (RMB). On the same day, Guizhou Maotai Distillery Co., Ltd. (Guizhou Maotai) changed its commitment from three days ago, reducing the limit on the purchase of Maotai from 12 bottles per person per day to 6 bottles.
According to data from a third-party liquor price information platform in China, on January 3, the wholesale reference price for a single bottle of 25-year-old Feitian Maotai (53 degrees/500ml) was reported at 1495 yuan per bottle, a decrease of 15 yuan from the previous day. The price for a full case was 1505 yuan per bottle, down 20 yuan from the previous day, with a cumulative drop of about 100 yuan per bottle over the past week.
This marks the official guidance price of Feitian Maotai falling below 1499 yuan once again. The last time it fell below this price was in early December 2025 when Guizhou Maotai suddenly released stock to the market, causing a rapid drop in Maotai prices.
On the evening of the same day (3rd), Guizhou Maotai’s digital marketing platform iMaotai announced an adjustment to its purchase policy, reducing the daily purchase limit per person from 12 bottles to 6 bottles. Just three days earlier on January 1, iMaotai officially launched a bottle of Feitian Maotai priced at 1499 yuan, which was highly sought after by the market. However, after just three days, Guizhou Maotai changed their commitment.
Guizhou Maotai is a benchmark enterprise in the Chinese liquor industry and sets the tone for the Chinese liquor market, but the company is also facing challenges. In early last year, the wholesale price of Feitian Maotai was around 2320 yuan per bottle, but by December, it had dropped to 1499 yuan.
Regarding the introduction of the 1499 yuan Maotai bottle by Guizhou Maotai, which was highly sought after, industry insiders told “First Financial Daily” that the release by iMaotai has been largely absorbed by market demand, which can effectively increase Maotai’s revenue. However, the long-term impact on the industry still needs to be observed. Some liquor merchants believe that based on the current market situation, overall alcohol consumption is weak, and the three-day hot sales of Maotai may not necessarily reflect real consumer demand, as there are likely many speculators in the purchase rush.
A liquor merchant in Jinan, Shandong, Lao Sheng, also mentioned that Maotai’s future plans are currently unknown, so they are very cautious in their own purchases. In the past, intermediaries earned a markup ranging from ten to tens of yuan by purchasing from Maotai distributors. Now, this price difference continues to shrink, putting more pressure on the survival space of intermediaries in the future.