**Definition: Pet food hereinafter refers to pet compound food. According to related regulations in China, Administrative Measures for Pet Foods1, pet compound feed refers to feed prepared by mixing a variety of feed raw materials with feed additives according to certain proportions, aiming to meet pets’ nutritional requirements at different life stages or under specific physiological and pathological conditions. One pet compound food can be used alone to meet the full nutritional requirements of pets. (CL Notes: pet compound food/feed can be understood as the staple feed for cats and dogs.)
Import Data in H1, 2021
The import value of pet foods reached USD 272 million in H1 2021, which maintained a relative stable performance compared to that of H1 2020, but was 8 times higher than that of H1 2017.
Source: China Customs Statistics2
By country—In H1 2021, Thailand and New Zealand were the top 2 exporting countries of canned pet food to China, which accounted for 76% of the total import. Regarding the import value of pet food in other package forms, Canada and the US were in a dominant position in this category, occupying 85% of the total import.
No. | Canned pet food | Pet food in other package forms | ||||
Country | Import value (mn USD) | Percentage of the total import | Country | Import value (mn USD) | Percentage of the total import | |
1 | Thailand | 30.6 | 53% | Canada | 141 | 66% |
2 | New Zealand | 13 | 23% | The US | 40 | 19% |
3 | Germany | 6.6 | 11% | New Zealand | 17 | 8% |
4 | Austria | 2.7 | 5% | Italy | 5 | 2% |
5 | The US | 2.5 | 4% | Australia | 5 | 2% |
… | Others | 2 | 4% | Others | 6 | 3% |
Registration Data
Before entering China’s market, imported pet foods need to obtain import registration licenses from the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MOARA). Check CL webinar3 to view the application procedure.
In H1 2021, 206 pet food products were granted import registration licenses. Among the approved products, 102 were cat food and 104 were dog food. Most of the registered pet foods were from Germany, New Zealand and Canada.
*Data include new product registration, alteration registration and renewal registration.
Source: Import feed and feed additive registration data platform, by MOARA4
From 2015 to 2020, the number of approved import registration license for pet food was on the rise. Especially in 2020, the registration approval number soared to a new high despite the outbreak of COVID-19. This was as a result of the rapidly expanding pet industry market5 in China, simplified declaration requirement during the pandemic6, the lag time between submitting registration declaration and getting approval, etc.
*Data include new product registration, alteration registration and renewal registration.
Source: Import feed and feed additive registration data platform, by MOARA
As for the exporting countries, from 2015 to H1 2021, the top 5 exporters granted the most import approvals were Canada, Belgium, New Zealand, Italy and the US.
*Data only include new product registration and does not include alteration registration and renewal registration.
Source: Import feed and feed additive registration data platform, by MOARA
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