Baesangmyun Brewery Co. has recently started exporting wine made with Korean blackberries ― called bokbunja ― to China.

The company said Tuesday it clinched a contract worth 200 million won ($174,000) last month with Qingdao Hongbo Import & Export Co., a trading firm, to supply 60,000 bottles of the wine throughout this year.

“The deal signifies the upbeat outlook for the Korean alcoholic beverage industry as China is emerging as one of the world’s biggest wine consumers, spurred by the rising income levels among the country’s middle class,” said Kim Cheol-ho, Baesangmyun’s marketing chief.

Major Korean breweries and distilleries, including Kooksoondang and Hite-Jinro, have been seeking to promote local specialty drinks at home and abroad as the ripening market boosts demand for more sophisticated and diverse products, shifting from a heavy focus on soju and beer.

The Korea Customs Service said last month that exports of makgeolli, Korean rice wine, are expected top $50 million at the end of 2011 because of its surging popularity in Japan and China.

Bokbunja has long been widely consumed by Koreans due to its supposed antioxidant, anticancer and beauty effects.

The market has quintupled in seven years to nearly 200 billion won in 2011, according to the Jebba Food & Beverages Corp., a guild of bokbunja producers in North Jeolla Province.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)