Satisfying a growing range of expectations

ECONOMIC developments like those we are now seeing in a number of Asian countries result in farreaching social change. Large percentages of these populations still live in rural areas; these inhabitants depend on farming for their livelihood and get their food supplies primarily from local markets. However, the increasing migration from the countryside to cities, i.e. growing urbanisation, is impossible to overlook. As a result, living conditions and consumer habits are changing.

The table contains just a few statistics that show the difficulty involved in  comparing the individual countries. China, for example, stands apart from all the other countries due to its size alone, and therefore also because of  the size of its domestic market. The different levels of development from country to country are clearly evident in the GDP per capita, which ranges from $1,064 in Viet Nam to over $36,000 in Singapore.

For the food sector, this means above all that demand for processed foods and  beverages can be expected to grow enormously in the future. And here we are
clearly seeing changes in taste preferences: Whereas consumption of traditional foods and beverages such as rice, vegetables and tea is declining, the demand for milk products, meat, chocolate, wine and coffee is increasing.

The growth in the food industry is being driven by numerous companies, most of which are small or medium-sized businesses. In many instances they are still working with conventional and outdated technologies, which results in considerable losses of raw materials, higher costs and lower profits.

One of the biggest challenges facing the food industry is therefore its need  for modernisation and automation. The key here will be to increase production  and product quality, whilst at the same time ensuring that the food produced is safe. And in view of developments on the international energy market, there is also a need to reduce energy use in all areas.

In order to achieve these ambitious goals, the food industry in China, for example, is increasingly using domestically manufactured machines for food production and packaging, but on the other hand it is also using state-ofthe- art technology from Europe and the USA, especially for complex production and  packaging processes. In 2010 exports of German packaging machines to China reached a volume of €483 million, making the Asian nation the largest single customer for packaging machines made in Germany. China imported food  production and packaging machines worth US$1.922 billion in 2010 - almost twice the total posted in 2009. Viet Nam imported €110 million worth of packaging machines in 2009. Malaysia increased its imports of food production  and packaging machines from $215 million in 2009 to US$270 million, including German machinery valued at $62 million.

In the 1980s and 1990s almost all of Hong Kong's industrial companies relocated to the Chinese mainland in order to achieve cost savings. One exception to this was food production, which today is the most important business sector in Hong Kong and includes about 800 companies with over 27,000 employees and a combined turnover of $3.682 billion (2009). The regional production is strengthened considerably by a strong emphasis on food   quality and safety - an area in which consumers have had very unpleasant experiences with cheap imported products. In the years 2008 to 2010 machines for food production, filling and packaging with a combined value of $263.9 million were imported, with 18.5% coming from China and 7.8% from Germany. Only about $28 million worth of thAir Jordan VI 6 Shoes