The Market for Food Ingredients China HK 1998(9)

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

In recent years, many suppliers of food ingredients have invested heavily in the East Asian region. Some have set up manufacturing plants in countries of the region, others have built new technical centres and pilot facilities with a special emphasis on Asian-based applications, while others have strengthened their marketing networks across the region.

The interest of food ingredient suppliers has been aroused by the rapid development of many of the region’s food markets and the clear shift towards processed and consumer-ready products. This trend has been driven by a multitude of factors, including rising disposable incomes, diversification of consumer tastes and growing demand for convenience foods. In particular, a lot of attention is now being paid to the more developing markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Korea and China.

While much of Australia’s food trade with the East Asian region is in the bulk commodities of beef, grain and sugar, its markets for processed food ingredients continue to expand in the less traditional markets of the region.

In terms of Australia’s trade with Asia in processed food ingredients, there have been consistent increases in the past four years in exports of artificial sweeteners, emulsifiers, sugar derivatives, starches, cocoa and cocoa products, and essential oils and plants. Among these traditional product lines, niche markets have also begun to emerge: the result primarily of changing consumer tastes, greater purchasing power, and increased market penetration by foreign suppliers. Examples identified in this report include chocolate, ethnic foods, premium ice cream, food flavourings, health foods, instant noodles and halal products among others.

China and Hong Kong

China has been identified by many international food ingredients suppliers as a major target market in the Asian region. A population in excess of one billion, and a rapidly developing food industry demanding an increasing sophisticated and wider range of food ingredients, have motivated many multinational suppliers to invest heavily in China.

A 1995 RIRDC study estimated that in 1992 China’s processed food market was worth approximately $A63 billion. This is about one-third of the country’s total food market (Fahey 1995).

The food ingredients industry in China can best be described as an emerging industry. In 1996 the output of food additives including fermentation products was 1.3 million tonnes with a sales value of about RMB13 billion ($A2 billion). The number of Chinese enterprises producing food additives is believed to be in excess of 400.

The food processing sector in Hong Kong is small, with demand essentially met through imports. Hong Kong’s processed food market was worth $A5 billion in 1992, and had a per capita consumption level of $A944 in that year, quite a high level for an Asian market (Samuel 1994). However, as well as being a significant food market in its own right, Hong Kong plays an important role in the development of China’s food industry because it acts as a transhipment point for a large volume of imported food ingredients entering China.

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