FOOD SAFETY PRODUCTS IN CHINA to 2013 (Industry Study with Forecasts for 2013 & 2018)

Abstract

Demand for food safety products in China is forecast to increase 15 percent per annum through 2013 to ¥13.0 billion. Growth will be driven by the continuing expansion of food and beverage output, mainly in the processed food, beverage and dairy product segments that are more intensive users of these products. A greater focus on food safety and supply chain security by larger food processing firms in China will also boost gains. This will be partly in response to enhanced government regulation, in particular the Food Safety Law introduced in 2009. Consumer concerns in both domestic and export food markets following a series of food safety scares involving Chinese food will also prompt spending on food safety products by food industry participants. Enhancing responsibility and food safety awareness in China will be crucial for ensuring the sustainability of future gains in the food safety products industry. However, there remain doubts as to the effectiveness of the local implementation of the new Food Safety Law.

Disinfection products will remain the largest food safety product category. Gains will be driven by a greater use of disinfectants and sanitizers in food processing plants, as well as by fast growing demand for pasteurization equipment by dairy and beverage firms in China. Strong advances in sales of diagnostic testing products will be driven by the increasing numbers of food processor and government agency tests for pathogenic and non-pathogenic contaminants.

The strongest gains will be in the tracking product segment, with demand for RFID and other smart labels and tags, as well as tracking software systems, benefiting from concerns over supply chain security. Increases in the preservatives segment will lag overall gains to some extent, largely due to the more mature nature of this product segment. However, annual demand growth of almost 13 percent will be fueled by increases in processed food and beverage output, as well as by price gains for preservatives.

Food processing plants are the largest market for food safety products in China, accounting for 85 percent of sales in 2008. Such dominance is due to relatively strong government oversight of these fa-cilities and the high profile of these firms among consumers. The next largest cate-gory is government purchases, as tens of thousands of inspections are carried out around the country each year by local government agencies. The demand level for food safety products by foodservice establishments, wholesale and distribution operations, retail and agricultural units is limited by low food safety awareness, low income levels and a lack of incentives to boost spending.