COUNTRY PROFILE
Discover more about the China market including overviews about the retail, foodservice, and food-processing sectors. Events, resources, and more are linked throughout the profile.
3rd
largest export market for the export of U.S. processed foods
8%
increase in U.S. processed food exports to China in 2024
64%
of the Chinese population live in urban areas
Focus Economics reports that China faces several economic headwinds, including an aging population, environmental pollution, and debt concerns in its corporate and local government sectors. In early 2025, the Trump Administration imposed significant tariffs on Chinese imports and China has countered with retaliatory tariffs. The current situation reflects a deepening trade war and U.S. agricultural exports are forecasted to deteriorate further during the year.
China is now the third largest market for the export of U.S. processed foods, totaling US$2.4 billion in 2023, and a decrease of 7% from the prior year. In 2024, U.S. processed food exports to China increased 8% to US$2.6 billion.
Top processed food products exported to China in 2024 included:
2nd
largest packaged food market in the world
$2.1 trillion
in online retail food sales in 2023
$331.7 billion
in projected packaged food sales by 2029
According to Euromonitor, retail sales in the packaged food market in China had been estimated to reach US$296.8 billion in 2024. China is the second largest packaged food market in the world after the U.S. By the year 2029, the retail sales in the packaged food market in China is expected to reach US$331.7 billion, a growth rate of 9.9% or US$29.9 billion from 2025.
Food and agricultural products are sold and distributed through multiple retail channels: e-commerce platforms, offline (brick-and-mortar) retail, and traditional markets (wet markets). Offline retail consists of hypermarkets, supermarkets, department stores, specialty stores, and convenience stores.
FAS Post Guangzhou reports that U.S. high value products (HVP) with good potential in the Chinese market include beef and beef products, soup and other food preparations, pork and pork products, tree nuts, and poultry meat and prods, (ex. eggs), dairy products, meat products, dog and cat food, and fresh and processed fruit.
$750 billion
total revenue in catering in 2023
$209.8 billion
total value of the food delivery market in 2023, doubled from 2020-2023
5.9%
year-over-year growth in catering revenue in 2024
FAS Post Shenyang reports that China’s foodservice industry continued to rebound in 2023, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Revenues of the catering industry reached US$750 billion, up 20.4% from 2022. From January to October 2024, cumulative catering revenue was approximately US$629 billion, growing 5.9% from the same period last year. Consumption in first-tier cities is declining while lower-tier city consumption is growing.
The food delivery market reached RMB 1.5 trillion (US$209.8 billion) in 2023, doubling the size of three years ago. Online sales and food delivery remain a key component for many restaurants.
FAS Post Shenyang reports that bakery goods are increasingly popular, boosted by the growth in café culture. Previously only seen in luxury hotels in China, stand-alone bakeries and pastry shops are also growing popular. Imported ingredients such as flours, butter, dried nuts, and dried fruits are crucial to producing high-quality, western-style bakery foods.
4th
The U.S. was the fourth largest exporter of consumer-oriented products to China in 2023
2.3%
growth in China’s food production sector in 2023
51
different countries that China imported ingredients from in 2023
FAS Post Shanghai reports that in 2023, the U.S. remained the fourth largest exporter of consumer-oriented products to China, with demand for U.S. food-processing ingredients experiencing significant growth. Consumers’ growing appetite for healthier and premium food will continue to encourage the expansion and development of China’s domestic food-processing industry. Demand for convenient pre-cooked foods is also increasing with sales channels diversifying due to shifts in consumer habits and consumption patterns.
FAS Post Shanghai reports that products present in the market which have good sales potential include heat-treated chicken paws, almonds, pistachios, prepared or preserved cranberries, hops, surimi, American ginseng, and dried peas. There are also many products not yet present in the market with good sales potential, however, China’s vast food-processing industry is increasingly able to meet their input demands through the domestic market.
