Shanghai imported food market grows

SHANGHAI - China's market for imported food products is expanding with the growth in the number of middle-income consumers, industry sources have said. 

"China's potential as a food-importing country is vast and it will continue to grow as the Chinese middle-income market becomes bigger. There are more people who want to try more different foods," said Peng YANG, general manager of Shanghai Golden Commercial Exhibition Co., Ltd, an organizer of food and wine events, particularly those in Asian markets. 

The company will launch the FBIE, China's global food exhibition, in Shanghai. 

"The mainland, in terms of food and wine events, has just overtaken Hong Kong to become the second-biggest show in our group. And we are fast catching up with Singapore to be the biggest," Yang said. 

"The prospect of the imported food market in China is huge. It's just the beginning," he said. 

The Shanghai Import Food Enterprise Association has similarly witnessed the growth in the imported food market over the years. 

"The market in Shanghai is growing each year because of the stronger purchasing ability of the consumers," said Zhang She, head of the association's communication department. 

Food safety problems in China are also main factors contributing to the growth in the imported food market, he said. 

"Many customers choose imported food because it not only meets the safety standard of its country of origin, but also passes the inspection and quarantine in China," he said. 

According to the association, the volume of imported dairy products, especially milk powder and fresh milk from Australia and New Zealand, is increasing rapidly in recent years. 

"High-end imported foods used to dominate the market years ago. But now we can see imported foods of different levels in the market for different kinds of people," he said. 

The number of domestic customers is growing and half of our customers are Chinese now. 

"Our Chinese customers are basically white-collar workers who are pursuing a better quality of life," she said.