China enters dog-eat-dog pet
industry By Candy Zeng
SHENZHEN - With China's fast economic
development, more affluent urban residents now
have the money and leisure time for pets. As a
result, a thriving pet market has emerged and is
growing fast, attracting investors at home and
abroad.
Some researchers say the pet
market will grow quickly where per capita gross
domestic product exceeds US$3,000.
Major
Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai,
Guangzhou and Shenzhen, have reached this point.
Now, the typical Western scene of owners walking
their dogs on streets and in parks can be more
frequently seen in such communities.
Accordingly, pet products - from food and
shampoo to toys - are now on shelves in more and
more supermarkets, which
sometimes perplexes those who
do not own pets.
It's estimated that the
Chinese are breeding at least 100 million pets,
including dogs, cats, fish and other animals, with
the market potential reaching 15 billion yuan
($1.9 billion). The pet boom, however, is just the
the beginning of an emerging "pet economic sector"
in China. Some experts predict the industry could
hit 40 billion yuan in sales by 2010, with the
number of pets increasing to 150 million. The pet
boom has also boosted China's media as specialized
publications and Internet websites have
mushroomed. In Beijing, the number of pet dogs
could reach more than 1 million, with some 530,000
registered with the local authority by end of
June.
"Generally speaking, about 30% of
dog owners would register their dogs with
government authorities, so conservatively the
total pet dogs shall exceed 1 million," Wang
Decheng, chairman of a Beijing pet services
center, was reported saying on the popular Chinese
pet website www.wwpet.com.
If an average
owner spends 200 yuan a month on a pet in Beijing,
the market is worth as much as 24 million yuan
annually. Statistics from Shanghai show that the
average monthly spending on pets amounts to 300
yuan per family.
Other major, prosperous
Chinese cities also are experiencing the same "pet
craze". Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing
and Wuhan are listed as the top five cities for
pet-raising in terms of the number of animals and
spending on pets.
In Shenyang, the capital
of Liaoning province in northeast China, many are
making a fortune by raising thoroughbred dogs such
as chow chows and Tibetan mastiffs, said Li
Zhensheng, vice president of the city's pet
businesses association.
The return on sale
of such well-bred dogs could be more than 50%, Li
estimated. A thoroughbred chow chow pup is priced
at 20,000-50,000 yuan, the larger Tibetan mastiff
will go for 300,000-500,000 yuan in Shenyang.
The spinoff revenue generated from pet
ownership is also growing steadily.
Beijing imported pet food worth 200
million yuan in 2001, an increase of 130% over
2000, according to market research commissioned by
an organizer of the Tianjin International Pet
Economy Exhibition held in April. Royal Canin, a
French pet-food supplier, entered the Beijing
market in 1995 and has achieved annual growth of
30% in recent years. Aifen Food (Beijing) raked in
20 million yuan by selling Pedigree and Whiskas
brand pet food last year.
Some pet shops
in major cities boast more than 200 accessories. A
dog vest can cost about 200 yuan, while a bed with
temperature adjustment priced at 600 yuan was very
popular during the winter in Beijing.
Some
beauty saloons charge 400-500 yuan for a package
that includes bathing, fur-trimming, hairdressing
and nail-cutting for well-bred dogs. It could be
more expensive for those animals entered in pet
competitions.
Hospitals, schools, online
shops, boarding facilities and photography studios
for pets are mushrooming while some traditional
pet shops may offer one-stop services, including
food, accessories, consulting, boarding and
matchmaking.
The booming pet industry in
China is attributed to improved living standards,
the one-child family planning policy, more lonely
aged people and housewives, and the stressed
working class.
The growing number of pet
owners has driven local governments in China to
reconsider the previous tight controls on raising
dogs. Beijing revised its dog regulation in 2003,
lowering the dog registration fee to 1,000 yuan
and the annual inspection fee to 500 yuan.
In Shenzhen, China's first special
economic zone in Guangdong province, the dog
management fee was slashed to 300 yuan from 2,000
yuan annually, and dog owners were exempted from
the initial registration fee of 5,000 yuan from
July 1.
While the city's online puppy
website hailed the lower fees as "a success of and
spring to dog keepers", those not as fond of pets
felt differently.
"It is okay for them to
raise dogs in their own house and garden, but I
would really feel scared standing besides a large
dog in the lift owned by any of my neighbors," one
netizen wrote.
The official charge on dog
breeding may be the highest in Guangzhou, where
the initial registration costs 10,000 yuan and the
annual charge is 6,000. As a result, only 800 dogs
are registered in Guangzhou and a few hundred of
some 60,000 dogs living in the city have rabies
shots.
Shenzhen's new policy is not aimed
at encouraging pet ownership, but offering
sufficient services to residents, a spokesman of
Shenzhen urban management office said. It is
impossible for the government to forbid dog
ownership, but it wants to manage pet dogs more
efficiently through better services to the owners,
he added.
Candy Zeng is a
freelance writer based in Shenzhen.
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