Unlocking Growth: China’s Canned Food Market Set to Thrive with 0.6% CAGR Over the Next Decade – Insights and Trends from IndexBox

As of February 23, 2025, there’s exciting news about the canned food market in China. A new report forecasts steady growth in this sector over the next decade. Canned food is becoming increasingly popular in the country, driving both volume and value upward.

From 2024 to 2035, the volume of canned food is expected to grow at an annual rate of 0.6%, reaching around 28 million tons. In monetary terms, the market value is anticipated to rise by 2.1%, eventually hitting about $93.9 billion by 2035.

In 2024, China consumed approximately 26 million tons of canned food, remaining stable compared to the previous year. This consumption level represents a steady increase of 2.1% annually since 2013, peaking at 27 million tons. However, in recent years, growth has slowed slightly.

The total value of canned food consumption in China was about $75 billion in 2024. This figure reflects overall sales from producers and importers, excluding costs related to logistics and retail. Over eleven years, the value of consumption grew at an average rate of 3.8%. In 2022, the market reached its highest point at $75.9 billion but saw a minor decrease in subsequent years.

When it comes to production, China produced roughly 28 million tons of canned food in 2024, similar to the previous year. Throughout the last decade, production grew at an average annual rate of 1.9%, with the most significant increase of 9.8% recorded in 2021. The production peak occurred in 2024, but growth has not regained momentum since then.

The production value for canned food was estimated at $81.5 billion in 2024. Similar to consumption, production also demonstrated a 3.8% average annual growth rate over the past 11 years, with noticeable fluctuations. The industry’s value peaked in 2022 at $82.5 billion, but again showed a decline from 2023 to 2024.

For imports, China brought in around 355,000 tons of canned food in 2024, which is a small drop of 2% from the previous year. Despite this decline, overall imports have grown significantly in recent years, especially during a notable leap of 117% in 2016. The peak import volume reached 485,000 tons years ago, but growth has recently stagnated.

The value of canned food imports fell to $4.4 billion in 2024. The most substantial increase in value took place in 2015, with a growth of 59%. Although imports peaked at $5.5 billion in 2019, they have since decreased.

Notably, the Netherlands was the largest supplier of canned food to China, providing 73,000 tons. This was followed by New Zealand (57,000 tons) and the United States (44,000 tons). These three countries represented nearly half of all canned food imports. Over the last decade, Mongolia showed remarkable growth in imports, with an annual increase of 72.7%.

The average import price for canned food in 2024 was about $12,410 per ton, down 1.8% from the previous year. Prices have generally risen since 2013, with an average increase of 2.3% annually. Interestingly, prices varied widely by supplier, with New Zealand commanding the highest price at $22,644 per ton, while Indonesia was among the lowest at $1,213 per ton.

On the export front, China shipped about 2.1 million tons of canned food in 2024, marking a slight increase of 0.8% for the third consecutive year after two years of decline. The average annual growth rate for exports has been about 1.1% since 2013, with a significant jump of 8.7% in 2022. But the export value dropped to $4.7 billion in 2024, compared to $6.3 billion at its peak in 2022.

South Korea emerged as the largest destination for canned food exports from China, followed closely by Japan and Hong Kong. Japan alone accounted for 30% of total exports, valued at $1.4 billion.

Export prices also varied, averaging $2,254 per ton in 2024, which is a notable drop from the previous year. The highest export prices went to Hong Kong, while the lowest were for shipments to Yemen.

Overall, the canned food market in China seems poised for growth, reflecting changing consumer preferences as more people turn to convenient food options.