China’s
modified food starch market is still booming, even the growth slowed down a bit
in 2013, due to booming demand for convenience food. However, as the production
quality for domestic manufacturers is still lacking behind international
standards, imports are filling the Chinese market and drive domestic products
out.
Modified
food starch is the result of processing raw material starch by physical,
enzymatical, or chemical force. Modified food starched is a common material in
the food industry to thickening or stabilising food products in the intention
of being more resistant to different temperatures, increase the shelf life, or
simply enhance the thickening ability, especially of sauces.
In
China, dairy products, as well as sauces, are the top end use application
fields of modified food starch, accounting for about three-quarters of the
total modified food starch sales volume by manufacturing giant Ingredion, in
2014 and 2015.
To
be more precise, dairy products used about 41,500 tonnes of modified food
starch in China in 2015, taking up 7.43% of the national total consumption.
Dairy products using modified food starch include yoghurt, milk beverage, and
cheese. Because of competition from overseas market, the output growth of
China's dairy products has been quite slow during 2013~2015.
Slowdown in growth but
booming imports
China’s
share of modified food starch in comparison to modified starch, in general, is
growing steadily. However, the growth of modified food starch has slowed down
in recent years, after experiencing a surge in the years before 2013. After
all, the CAGR of growth from 2014 to 2016 was less than 7%, after it was more
than 8% in the three previous years.
The
high demand for modified food starch is emerging from the busier lifestyles of
many Chinese workers, who are more often grabbing convenience food products
from the shells instead of spending much time and buying groceries and cooking
large meals. Especially young workers are very tempted to choose fast food in
order to keep up with their busy daily routine.
As
the country that invented the noodles several thousand years ago, this food is
the largest application field for modified food starch in China in 2016.
Further common application areas are meat products, bakery products, frozen
food, and also dairy products. Manufacturers are profiting from the high demand
for this products with higher margins throughout the past years.
The
imports of modifies food starch in China have been booming in the past years,
due to the fact that the quality and the price of foreign products is often
surpassing their Chinese counterparts. China’s exports of modified food starch,
on the other hand, only play a small role, as the domestic consumption is
growing and the demand outweighs the export.
Corn-based and
cassava-based are dominating
The
major modified food starch products that are manufactured in China, are
cassava-based starch and corn-based starch. Those two food starches are mainly
used in candies and meat products. The share of those two modified food starch
products was even able to increase almost steadily from 2011 to 2016, showing
the importance in the Chinese market.
As
China’s production capacity of modified food starch was fluctuation in the past
years, the output was growing steadily from 2013 to 2016. Hence, the capacity
utilization rate got better during this period.
The
most important region for Chinese modified food starch
production is Zhejiang Province, accounted for more than 14% of the
national output in 2016. Other major regions in terms of output are Shandong
Province, Henan Province, and Jilin Province. It is notable, that most
manufacturers of modified food starch in China are either located nearby the
raw materials for production, or nearby the downstream consumers to enable fast
supply.
China’s
prices of modified food starch are highly depending on the planting area and
policies regarding their raw materials. As so, the price of corn modified food
starch was affected by the implementation and later the abolishment of the
temporary corn stockpiling program of China’s government. The cassava modified
food starch price is more formed by the changed planting area in China and the
competition of imported starch.
Notably,
the corn starch industry has been suffered from oversupply for a long
time. Corn starch output is likely to reach about 24.50 million
tonnes in 2017, while the demand might settle around 23.50 million tonnes.
Furthermore, the growth of output will even exceed the one of demand.
In
terms of the global modified starch in general, food and beverages are
accounting for the largest fields, responsible for more than 32.7% of the
modified starch use in 2015. Other areas for it is the paper industry,
pharmaceuticals, textiles, and other smaller segments. The Asia-Pacific region
is the is the fastest growing area for modified food starch, which opens great
investment opportunities, especially in the emerging economies of India and
China.
Where to find the
complete research
You
can find a complete analysis of China’s modified food starch market in the
report
Supply
and Demand of Modified Food Starch in China, Edition (3).
This
report not only deals with the whole supply chain situation from raw materials
to end application industries but also gives an outlook for the next five years
to prepare for sustainable business decisions.
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