Elsewhere Along the Pacific Rim
Frozen Foods Also Flourishing

Australian market is booming, while China is experiencing ongoing development.

Japan may have the largest frozen domestic food industry on the Pacific Rim, but that doesn't mean nothing's going on in the rest of the region.

Frozen food is among the fastest growing retail food sectors in Australia, according to a brief by the Queensland Department of Primary Industries, having increased 12% in less than two years from AU$1.7 billion to AU$1.9 million. That last figure is for the 52 weeks ended June 4, 2003, versus the previous year.

Once limited to ice cream, peas and beans, Australian frozen foods now include complete meals, fish, desserts and pizza. Growth of the category has been stimulated by consumer demand for quick and easy to prepare snacks and meals. The market has responded with a variety of products that are deemed healthy, consistent in quality and economical.

Some important growth segments within the frozen foods cluster are:

o Complete Meals. Now ringing up AU$223 million (retail). Complete meals are growing at 30% in value annually. The segment is fairly evenly divided between "general" meals (54%) and "healthy" meals (45%).

o Frozen Fish. Australians are turning more and more to packaged frozen fish because of its consistent and reliable quality. The retail value is estimated to be about AU$132 million. The frozen fish category is seeing strong growth of 5% per year.

o Frozen Desserts. This segment is divided into hot and cold desserts. Although hot desserts still hold 60% of the market, the trend is favoring the growth of cold desserts - especially in the areas of croissants, cake desserts and breads.

o Frozen Pizza. Estimated to be worth AU$95 million, this sector experienced growth of nearly 9% in value per year. Consumers of frozen pizza desire more of everything - topping, variety and taste.

China, the world's most populous nation is a growing force in food exports, including seafood. But when in comes to frozen fish, the People's Republic's imports exceed exports by far - 990,048 tons versus 542,817 last year, according to customs records.

Import and export trade alike are dwarfed by domestic consumption. Fishery production last year was 45.5 million tons, up 3.9% from 2001, according to the Fisheries Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), which boasts that China accounted for 31% of the entire world's aquacultural output.

Aquaculture is the only future, as far as the government is concerned. It has decreed a no-growth policy in wild catches for both freshwater and saltwater fish in territorial waters, and ordered scrapping of about 30,000 fishing vessels over the next five years - nearly 5,000 were sent to the junkyard in 2002. Meanwhile, production is shifting increasingly from state-owned companies to private firms and joint ventures, especially in aquaculture.

A breakdown of production for 2002 wasn't available at press time, but for 2001 output of freshwater aquaculture was 15.95 million tons, up 5.1% from 15.17 million the year before. For seawater culture, the increase was 6.6%, from 10.61 million to 11.32 million. Together, they accounted for 62% of all aquatic production, with wild catches in decline. Freshwater output, wild and farmed, is nearly all fish. But shellfish - mostly other than shrimp and crabs - top finfish in seawater production.

When it comes to consumption, the MOA Fisheries Bureau and the State Statistic Bureau (SSB) are at odds. The SSB put urban consumption of fishery products at 12.3 kilograms per capita as of 2001, and rural consumption at 4.1 kg. But the MOA thinks it should be higher - as much as 30 kg. One thing for sure: the rate is growing, whereas those for pork, beef and lamb are stagnant or declining. Improved cold storage and distribution from coastal areas to the interior is a factor.

Not surprisingly, consumer spending on fishery products is highest in Shanghai, China's most affluent city. But Chinese consumers overwhelmingly prefer fresh and even live fish (kept in tanks at restaurants, wet markets and hypermarkets) to frozen. Shoppers often go out three times a week to get them. But efforts are being made to develop a branded market for frozen products that could bypass wholesalers and go directly to foodservice clients. Frozen imported products are said to have better potential in the North and Northeast, away from coastal areas where fresh fish are plentiful.

People unfamiliar with China may not think of it as potato country, but it accounts for between 20% and 25% of the world's potato acreage, and the harvest for 2001 was 65.56 million tons. By 2010, China expects to increase planted area by 30% to six million hectares, and double yields.

French fries and other specialty products account for no more than two percent of overall potato usage (Nearly half the crop goes for fresh consumption, 20% for starch, 15% for feed and six percent for seed). But 70% of all potato imports are frozen, and imports dominate the frozen sector - 49,517 tons in 2001 versus 8,000 for domestic production and forecasts of 52,000 each last year and this year against 10,000 and 11,000 for Chinese output.

China actually exports a substantial share of its frozen potatoes. Domestic consumption was projected at 52,948 tons last year and is forecast at 57,222 for 2002 and 58,200 for 2003. Fast food outlets, hotels and restaurants are the dominant market for fries.

Although there are 20-30 plants, including some joint ventures, devoted to french fries and potato chips, they have had problems with domestic potatoes because of a high sugar content that turns them dark and gives them off-flavor after frying, The small and inconsistent size of Chinese potatoes is also a problem. Until Chinese growers and processors can get around these problems, the market should continue to be dominated by imports.