China's Packaging Machinery Market Research Report - PMMI

production lines, accounting for nearly 20% of the total domestic output. The
Taiwanese manufacturer of Master Kang Instant Noodles holds 12% of the market
share. China is among the largest instant noodle producing countries in the world.
At the end of 1995, there were approximately 200 companies engaged in the
business of processing machinery for convenience food, with the annual sales
volume reaching more than 40 thousand sets. In 1996, the sales of instant noodles in
China accounted for 6.77% of that in the world. The global proportion of
convenience food in the entire food industry is estimated to rise from 5% in the
1990’s to 13% in 2010. The proportion in China is currently 3% of the food industry.
There are more than 2,000 categories of convenience foods in the world. In China
there are 2,000, and approximately 500 of them have proved popular. According to
the figures of the State Bureau of Statistics, 1/3 of foods on the market are
convenience foods. The major categories of convenience foods in the Chinese
market include: instant noodles, instant rice, instant congee, puffed food, and
convenience flavors for instant noodles.
Convenience food has been listed by the China Food Industrial Association as the
key trend for future development. It is estimated that by 2010, convenience food will
account for 50% of the food market, with the annual production value reaching RMB
50 billion.
4.5 The Quick Frozen Food (QFF) Industry
QFF was introduced to China in the late 1960’s. The industry began to grow in the
early 1990’s with an annual growth rate of 30%, becoming the fastest developing
food processing industry since 1990.
At present, the annual demand for QFF reaches 8.5 million tons. The major products
include four categories of quick frozen (QF) dumplings in more than 150 different
types. According to the State Bureau of Statistics, QF dumplings are extremely
welcomed by the public. According to the market survey report of National
Domestic Trade Bureau Information Center, QFF is listed as the best -selling
products in retailing stores.
There are various problems in the rapid development of QFF, such as the poor food
quality, lack of variety, and high prices. Especially in the aspect of packaging, plastic
is still the major application while paper boxes are already applied to international
products.
China has great stock of food resources with many types of QFF to be developed. It
38