Market Overview – China

Contents

• Production
• Trade
• Retail Sales
• For More Information
• Resources

Production

In the past few years, corn has overtaken rice as China's primary domestic crop. Volume production grew by a compound annual growth rate of 3.0% from 2012 to 2016.

Meat production is dominated by pork which has grown by a compound annual growth rate of 0.3% from 2012 to 2016. Chicken, the second-largest meat category, grew by a compound annual growth rate of 0.1% over the same period.

Pig numbers have decreased from 2012 to 2016, while sheep, goat, cattle, and buffalo numbers have increased.

Trade

China is a net importer of agri-food and seafood products. In 2017, China's agri-food and seafood trade deficit was C$65 billion with imports valued at C$162 billion, and C$96.9 billion in exports. China's agri-food and seafood imports increased at a compound annual growth rate of 2.9% from 2015 to 2017.

China's top agri-food and seafood imports in 2017 were soybeans, baby food, palm oil, frozen boneless beef, and wine. Key supplying countries were Brazil, the United States, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Canada was China's fourth-largest supplier of total agri-food and seafood products in 2017, with 5.5% market share.

Canada's agri-food and seafood exports to China were valued at C$8.1 billion in 2017. Top exports were canola seed, soybeans, canola oil, dried peas, and canola oilcake. In 2017, Canada registered an agri-food and seafood trade surplus of C$6.5 billion with China.

China's processed food imports were valued at C$65 billion in 2017. Canada's share was 3.7%. The United States, New Zealand, Indonesia, Australia, and France were the largest suppliers of processed food to China in 2017, providing 40.3% of the market. China's processed food imports grew by a compound annual growth rate of 5.6% from 2015 to 2017.

Retail sales

Packaged food sales increased at a compound annual growth rate of 4.4% over the period from 2013 to 2017 and are expected to continue increasing at a rate of 5.7% from 2018 to 2022. Within this category, the best performing segments in the last five years were baked goods, sauces, soup, baby food, and breakfast cereals.

Chinese consumers are increasingly purchasing health and wellness food products as shown by the compound annual growth rate of over 5% on most types of health and wellness food products over the period from 2013 to 2017, particularly organics, which grew by 20%. Although retail sales of organics are relatively small compared to naturally healthy and fortified/functional foods, there is great potential for growth with organic sales forecasted to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 13% over the forecast period of 2018 to 2022.

Supermarkets and hypermarkets are the main distribution channels for packaged food and are outperforming small independent grocers. However, these channels have lost market share in packaged food sales in recent years due to rising competition from e-commerce sites, which are experiencing growth thanks to the increasing number of smartphone and Internet users.

For more information

International Trade Commissioners can provide Canadian industry with on-the-ground expertise regarding market potential, current conditions and local business contacts, and are an excellent point of contact for export advice.

Overview of Trade Commissioner Services in China

For additional intelligence on this and other markets, the complete library of Global Analysis reports can be found on the International agri-food market intelligence page, arranged by region.

Resources

• Euromonitor International, 2018. China Country Profile.
• Euromonitor International, 2017. Consumer Lifestyles in China.
• Euromonitor International, 2018. Packaged Food in China.
• Food and Agriculture Organization – Statistics Division (FAOSTAT) (2017). Agricultural Production – China.
• Global Trade Tracker (2018). Import and export statistics – China.

Market Overview - China
Global Analysis Report

Prepared by: Kris Clipsham, International Market Research Analyst

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