According the latest report published by Research and Markets, food quality issues continued to affect canned/preserved food in China at the end of the review period, particularly canned/preserved meat and meat products. For instance, the chicken feed scandal which reported about the instant grown chicken within 45 days fed by medical additives at the end of 2012 shook consumer confidence in chicken-based products according to trade sources. Early in 2013, a report of up to around 13,000 pig carcasses due to porcine circovirus being found in Huangpu River in Shanghai further exacerbated the situation as consumers are worried about the pork products sources for canned/preserved meat and meat products in this sector. Thanks to the continuous efforts of both the government and key players in products quality control such as stricter control on chicken and pork checkout and sourcing the raw materials that used to make packaged food, trade sources indicated that the impact of these negative factors faded during the first half of 2013, with demand for canned/preserved food finally recovering and supporting stronger volume growth in overall 2013.
Competitive Landscape
Shineway Group is expected to continue to lead canned/preserved food in China in 2013, seeing current value growth of 5%. The company’s leading position is mainly due to its extensive distribution network, high brand awareness and broad customer base. However, as the largest player in canned/preserved food the company also suffered the negative impact of food quality incidents impacting canned/preserved food, such as the chicken feed scandal and the dead pigs found in Huangpu River, when weaker consumer confidence casts shadow over the whole industry and Shineway as the biggest canned meat producer with previous lean pork scandal suffered even more.
Prospects
Canned/preserved food constant value sales are expected to record a CAGR of 6% over the forecast period. Sales growth is expected to gradually pick up as the negative impact of food quality incidents dwindles. Stronger sales growth will however depend upon the government’s implementation of the Food Safety Law and the leading manufacturers’ efforts to build up their brands. However, the forecast period CAGR is still expected to be around a percentage lower compared with 2013 growth. In addition to maturity, this will mainly be due to consumers’ upgrading view over products in this sector triggered by continuous food safety issues as well as looking for better nutrition with fresh products instead.
