repression dampens spirits luxury in the capital of China liquor

   The manufacturer has published a wooden box in the shape of dragons, glass safely ensconced behind a padlock cabinet , and opened it a little , red, to reveal 500ml bottle .

" 298,000 yuan [ approximately Rs.32 lakh ] ," he said softly. Only the more surprising that the price tag was a significant revelation that his bottle was bought a week ago, is the identity of the client , of course, " a secret society . "

It is not without reason that the small fire bottles , fermented millet, white liquid in the distilleries of this remote town brewed earned a reputation of mythical proportions throughout China.

For a long time the prerogative of the Chinese Communist Party ( CCP) elite , exclusive - is Maotai liquor (also spelled Moutai ) is the most popular of all Chinese baijiu (white spirit ) - and notoriously difficult to acquire .

Maotai, in the last ten years have in common the new rich in China , as the ultimate symbol of social status and political power, in part because the act of obtaining a hard-to -find bottle is not only deep pockets , but and the extent of a political or guanxi .

And the heart of this dusty town , between the river and is Chishui - The increasing demand of China's prosperity , the company Guizhou Moutai , the largest brewery in the country Maotai, supports a multi-billion has mountains of northern Guizhou, a province that is paradoxically the poorest in China.

The city itself is constantly shrouded in separate strong flavors derived sorghum liquor . At its center lies the sprawling headquarters of Guizhou Moutai Company, on the banks of Chishui , whose waters are an essential ingredient in brewing water be removed.

But for many the bottle is equivalent official from the sprawling factories Guizhou Moutai opulent banquets with government - and, some say , the rampant political corruption and fats business in China today .

Thus, when the new President Xi Jinping has launched a crackdown on corruption targeting " excessive formalism , bureaucracy and waste hedonism " , it was surprising that one of his first decrees was to prohibit the part of the fleet at state functions .

During the nine months that Mr. Xi issued his directive , the liquor industry in an unusual state of flux is unprecedented for a golden decade of growth , the distillers of Maotai The Hindu said in interviews .

The fight against corruption seems to take effect , some surprise that similar warnings in the past that has made little used , do not take the threat seriously.

Distillers were , however, remain divided on the central question that many debates in China , political scientists, journalists: The campaign of Mr. Xi corruption here to stay , or should , as some critics say , fizzle out in the absence of major policy reforms ?

For distilleries in this bustling city , this is a topic that is likely to determine whether their businesses survive . Maotai is a dusty town whose economy revolves entirely around the alcohol industry . A reflection of the importance of investing in the future of the city by the local government - the town is next to a new six-lane paved highway that connects provincial capital Guiyang .

Billboards and giant glass display bottles of the most expensive line Marks Road Guiyang City , the shocking rice fields and villages of the province is a part of China 's poorest in terms of per capita income . A billboard shows the actor Jackie Chan shows a bottle of Moutai Guizhou best .

Kweichow Moutai plants produce only 10,000 tons per year . For a fifth of the estimated national demand , supply was limited , the brand with the feeling of exclusivity that drives its popularity among the Chinese political and economic elite.

However, despite the demand , the company's profits , which rose nearly 73 percent in 2011 and 50 percent in 2012 , a modest increase of 21 percent in the first quarter of this year . the profits of the company in 2012 , it had a significant 13 billion yuan ( about Rs.13 , 850 crore or $ 2.1 billion € ) .

This year for the first time in nearly a decade from the distillery , the price of Kweichow Moutai valuable products by more than 50 percent. The cheapest product that sells 2,200 yuan ( about Rs.23 , 450) is now bought for 1,400 yuan ( about Rs.14 , 900) .

Residents say the crisis has the directive of Mr. Xi coincided stressed the importance of relations between industry and luxury spirits distilleries Chinese officialdom.Other fared even be worse . In the first six months of this year, the profit of the spirits industry in China increased by only 0.57 percent, according to 55 percent more than last year , although total of 6.5 billion yuan always appreciated $ 39.7 billion (6 , 5 billion or Rs . 42.5 billion rupees).

Some of the smaller breweries that are confident that the campaign a much needed corrective in an industry where prices under the shade of the Guizhou Moutai company - to bring been inflated by excess and corruption.

"In China , this industry has all the status and price , not the quality to be ," said Zhang Xiaowen , a brewer fourth generation native Maotai, which varies a number of sorghum liquor distilled from a modest 60 yuan (about Rs . 640 ) per bottle to 50 ghosts that about Rs . 32,000 ) for sale for 3,000 yuan ( .

The industry , he says, is also struggling with a market of counterfeit spirits massive underground that has proliferated in recent years, from the hustle and bustle of the brands of the new rich and the higher officials who seek to curry favor driven . Kweichow Moutai a representative of the Company believes that 90 percent of all bottles served in restaurants in Beijing are fake.

But even as the Maotai distillery for hard times because of the suppression of Mr. Xi, the arrival of new Chinese president prepares but surprisingly increased profits brewers further upstream on the river Chishui .

The sale of local products near Xishui County , Xi Jiu soared during the repression , says Brenner, and have become a preferred order for state governments in Guizhou Province in Tibet. Sale of Xi Jiu crossed three billion yuan (Rs 3,200 crore ) in 2012 - more than twice as high in 2010.

The reason ? A brewery said: " If there is a fleet, to give a secure gift today is that which bears the name of the President. "