Demand for China's canned goods market increases

Sun Baiyu, a manager of a food trade company in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, had to visit local customs frequently to complete customs clearance procedures for exports of canned corn and bamboo shoots.

"Each time, I had to arrive at the customs service hall to urgently complete the clearance procedures very early in the morning, because the cargo ship usually leaves late in the afternoon," said Sun.

Following increased demand for Chinese canned goods in the overseas market, the overall export volume of the company reached 500 containers last year.

After a sharp increase in the first quarter, the company export volume is expected to increase around by 20 percent year-on-year in 2023, according to Sun.

"Messages asking for us to ship canned goods pop up on my online social platforms each day," he said.

Exports of canned food from China have increased in the overseas market as inflation in some countries and regions remain high which has, in turn, pushed up an increase of local food prices, according to the China Canned Food Industry Association.

Food companies in Guangdong have had to boost production capacity since the second half of last year, following the demand of increased exports of canned goods.

"We have been very busy in expanding production as canned vegetables, seafood and mushrooms demand has increased a lot since July last year," said Li Zhongbingbin, general manager of Jiangmen Jiangfan Aquatic products Co Ltd,

The company, based in Jiangmen of Guangdong, started producing canned vegetables in 2004. "The overseas market demand for canned goods has improved significantly and the shipment volumes have increased a lot," he said.

According to Li, the company's shipment value of canned goods doubled in 2022. The order volume increased about 10 percent year-on-year each month since the beginning of this year.

China's export volume of canned goods grew 12 percent year-on-year and has reached 3.125 million tons, worth $6.89 billion (47.37 billion yuan) in 2022, the highest level in the past six years, according to the association.

The cumulative average price of various canned goods reached $2205.28 per ton last year, up 9.28 year-on-year, according to the association.

Exports of canned goods to China's top ten major markets, except Ghana, Japan and South China, have increased significantly last year, compared to the same period of 2021, the association said.

Specifically, exports of canned goods to the United States, Russia and Hong Kong increased 19 percent, 23 percent and 63 percent year-on-year in 2022, respectively.

Together with Guangdong, provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Hubei and Hebei, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Tianjin have become major sources for exports of canned goods.