May 1, 2017

Asia world's fastest-growing market for processed meat and fish

Asia is the world's fastest-growing retail markets for processed meat, poultry and fish, with Indonesia and India playing key roles across these categories, according to global market intelligence agency Mintel.

It said Indonesia is currently among the fastest-growing processed meat and poultry markets globally with a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 26.7% between 2011 and 2015, followed by India with 22%, Vietnam 15.5%, China 13.9% and Brazil 10.9%.

Mintel estimates that Indonesia's processed meat and poultry market reached a value of 16 trillion rupiahs (US$1.2 billion) in 2016, while India is estimated to have reached a value of 11 billion rupees ($171.13 million).

Vietnam, China and Brazil have estimated retail values of 10 trillion dongs ($439.82 million), 275 billion yuan ($39.8 billion), and 12 billion reais ($3.8 billion), respectively.

Processed fish and seafood

India was found to be one of the fastest-growing retail markets for processed fish and seafood globally, growing at a CAGR of 24.9% between 2011 and 2015, while Indonesia saw a CAGR of 19.5%, Turkey 11.8%, South Africa 11.2% and Russia 10.8%, rounding out the top five growth markets.

In 2016, Mintel estimates India's processed fish and seafood market reached a value of INR2.422 billion ($37.68 million), while Indonesia is estimated to have hit IDR32 trillion ($2.4 billion), Turkey 372 million lira ($104.68 million), South Africa 3 billion rand ($224.68 million) and Russia 148 billion rubles ($2.6 billion).

In the five years between 2011 and 2015, Thailand also experienced a positive CAGR of 9.4% for the processed fish and seafood market and a CAGR of 7.5% for the processed meat and poultry market. In terms of retail market value for 2016, Thailand's processed fish and seafood market was estimated to have reached 65 billion baht ($1.88 billion) and its processed meat and poultry market, THB60 billion ($1.73 billion).

Driven by a surge in innovation activity, the global processed meat, poultry and fish markets saw an 18% increase in product launches in 2016 compared with 2014, according to Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD). In 2016, Asia-Pacific was the second-most active region globally in terms of processed meat, poultry and fish new product development (NPD), accounting for 24% of processed meat, poultry and fish product innovations, led by China, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines.

"The need for convenience is the key driver behind Asia's growing processed meat, poultry and fish retail markets in Indonesia, Thailand and India. Demand for processed and ready-to-eat foods, particularly frozen foods, is growing across Asia as increasingly time-pressed consumers have embraced the convenience of the freezer and of microwave cooking. Aligned with consumer interest in the region, processed meat, poultry and fish product innovation in 2016 saw strong focus on convenience claims, such as ease of use and microwaveable", said Patty Johnson, global food and drink analyst at Mintel.