Craft brewer Tuatara is to send its first shipment to China as it seeks to develop an export business.

The Kapiti Coast-based brewer is sending a pallet - around 1700 bottles - to distributor Tradepoint, which operates in Xiamen province.

As well as regular shipments to Australia, Tuatara, which brews its beer in Waikanae, has also shipped to the United States and is investigating other markets in Asia.

General manager Sean Murrie said the company had recently appointed an export sales manager to investigate new opportunities. "There's a monumental amount of business that we can tap into and now we're gearing up to do that," he said. "For most small breweries export is usually a case of waiting for someone to send you an email asking for some product, and sending it away. We're trying to be a bit more structured about it."

More info

http://brewersguild.org.nz/news/2010/little-local-dragon-sent-to-quench-chinas-thirst