(Yicai) Aug. 22 -- China’s pet food market is expected to be worth CNY241.7 billion (USD33 billion) by 2025 and more Chinese brands are coming on the market, aided by the rise of e-commerce platforms, according to a recent report.

China’s sales of pet food will swell 26.8 percent by 2025 from this year and the market has great potential, according to a report by iiMedia Research.

The number of pet food business licenses in China more than doubled last year from 2018 to 563, said Wang Xiangqian, executive chairman of the China Feed Industry Association’s pet food division. The number of pet food producers have tripled over the period to nearly 400 and their annual output has increased by 50 percent to 1.2 million tons.

Pet commodity sales on NetEase’s e-retail arm Yanxuan has been more than doubling each year for the last three years, according to data from the Chinese internet giant. In 2020 it surged two-and-a-half fold from the previous year, in 2021 it soared 125 percent and in 2022 it surged 116.8 percent.

The gap between foreign and Chinese pet food brands is narrowing, according to an industry white paper. Last year, imported brands accounted for 59 percent of sales and 41 percent were Chinese. In the first half, the top five pet food brands on TikTok’s Chinese version Douyin were all Chinese. Whereas before, the US’ Mars and Switzerland’s Nestlé dominated the market.

Domestic brands are catching up with foreign brands, said Qiu Jichao, head of NetEase’s Yanxuan Pet Studio. Although France’s Royal Canin is still the best seller, there are now many Chinese brands in the top 10 pet foods, as evidenced during the 618 and Double 11 online shopping galas.

Most imported products are sold by third-party agencies in China but there is little customer support, Qiu said. Now many Chinese firms that used to be producers for overseas brands for a small profit are developing their own brands.

Spending on fur babies in China climbed 8.7 percent last year from the year before to CNY270.6 billion (USD37.2 billion), the white paper said. This is a noticeable slowdown from 2021 when consumption jumped 21.2 percent year on year. Spending on dogs expanded 3.1 percent last year from 2021 while that on cats soared 16.1 percent.

Editor: Kim Taylor