Research and Markets: Dairy Products in China: a Market Analysis.

Business Editors

DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 10, 2004

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com) has announced the addition of Dairy Products in China: A Market Analysis to their offering.

This updated report provides detailed analysis of the dairy products market in China (butter, margarine, milk, cream, cheese, yoghurts and ice creams). China is changing rapidly and so are its tastes.

Report Coverage

This report covers the market for dairy-based products in the People's Republic of China. The report covers the following sectors:

Spreads: including butter and margarine.

Basic dairy products: including fresh milk, cream and cheese.

Yoghurt: Including plain and flavoured yoghurt and fruit-based yoghurt.

Ice Cream: Including all flavoured and plain ice creams containing milk solids.

China is changing rapidly and so are its tastes. As a consumer society emerges, so new products are appearing with increasing regularity. Dairy products are among them.

Rising average annual incomes, greater ownership of fridges and freezers, increased exposure to western and international cuisines and a greater array of goods in the supermarket are all combining to increase sales of dairy products in China.

Historically, dairy and milk-based products were rare in China. A high incidence rate of lactose intolerance, low level of milk and dairy production, no cultural history of cheese and other dairy products combined to keep the market restricted. Add to this the mammoth transportation problems, southern climate, poor storage and packaging and dairy products were not the easiest things to produce and sell either for local or international companies.

But, tastes have changed. The arrival of the fast-food chains, western-style supermarkets, greater awareness concerning the health benefits of dairy products and the emergence of a generation both willing and able to try new products and the market for dairy products has made great strides in China.

Despite not being a traditional food product in China, dairy products are emerging as one of the fastest growing sectors of the market in China at the moment. There are any number of reasons for this - calcium awareness, a growing taste for western products, improved earnings, increased availability - amongst them. Not least is the presence of foreign dairy companies, both as active importers in to the market and latterly as manufacturers in China. The New Zealand Dairy Board was so pleased with import success that it has now opened a factory. Walls and Nestle have come to dominate the ice cream and Popsicle markets due to lack of local competition.

There are currently approximately 1,000 dairy enterprises in China, of which 90% have a capacity of processing less than 100 tons of fresh milk daily. Many dairy farms have increasingly outdated equipment and technology despite growing levels of investment and this is meaning that they are losing out to foreign funded joint ventures and imports.

Core Contents

-- Subsector values and volumes

-- Imports and exports of dairy products

-- Manufacturing capacity

-- Breakdowns of consumption by major city (Beijing & Shanghai)

-- Average pricing across all product ranges

-- Advertising and marketing trends within the industry

-- Market shares by company and sector

-- All data is referenced against wider food sales and

consumption trends in China

-- Legislative changes, new products & brands, consumer profiles

-- Distribution with market shares of leading retail outlets for

dairy products

-- SWOT analysis on China's dairy market

Selection of companies covered:

Beijing Sanyuan Foods Company Ltd, Guangming Dairy Shanghai, Hangzhou Wahaha Group Corporation, Harbin Dairy Equipment Manufacturing Company Ltd, Heilongjiang Wandashan Group, Hengshoutang Calcium Milk Company, Inner Mongolia YiLi Industrial Co. Ltd, Number One Yimin Food Factory, Shanghai Industrial Holdings Ltd, Shanxi Gucheng Dairy Products Group Ltd, Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group Company Ltd, Shanghai Kang Lin Milk Products Company No.1 Factory, Barlile, Baskin Robbins, CAFL, China Premium Food Corporation, Dairy Queen, Groupe Danone, Friendly's Ice Cream Corporation, Gerstenberg og Agger, Haagen-Dazs/Diageo, Hung Yip, International Nutrition Company, Nestle SA, New Zealand Dairy Board, Parmalat Finanziaria S.p.A, Swensons Ice Cream, TCBY Systems Inc, Unilever PLC (Walls), Victorian Dairy Industry Association, Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c1871