To give a general idea of what’s in the UMS’ bespoke China Daily Morning Brief, a daily email service focused on four industry categories – Education, Tourism, Food & Beverage, and Health & Skincare, I decided to write a summary of the July insights our team published. The Morning Brief reports on the latest buzz on social media and what topics have been discussed most in China’s market. Providing a broad reference for four different industries: education, travel, food and beverage, and health and wellness, the publication enables brands to make proactive strategic decisions. Let’s take a look at some of the themes that were highlighted in October’s publications.
1. Education industry
Australia’s trade and tourism minister, said the federal government hoped to have students, tourists, working holiday visa holders and Pacific workers back by Christmas.
The ticket to Australia from China will only be 700 Australian dollars. However, as 2021 draws to a close, New Zealand borders remain closed to the threat of COVID-19, leaving countless foreign students stranded overseas. New Zealand students studying abroad are expected to return to New Zealand in batches from January 2022.
Statistics from China’s Ministry of Education show that since China’s reform and “opening up” (1978-2019), a total of 6,566,600 students have studied abroad, among whom 1,656,200 are studying or researching abroad. In the past 10 years, the number of students studying in China has more than doubled from 238,200 to 492,200. It is estimated that there are more than 907,000 foreigners working in China.
2. Travel industry
The new Australian international travel vaccine certificate was officially launched on October 19 as the federal government is prepares to further relax international border restrictions. After having its borders closed for over 600 days, Australian prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that the country’s borders will open in November. Compared to the originally planned December 17, 2021, it is one month ahead of schedule. From November 1st, all Australian citizens and permanent residents who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 will be able to leave the country without special exemptions.
As the delta strain of coronavirus continues to spread, many countries in the Asia-Pacific region have begun to change their pandemic prevention strategies, from the previous “clearing” to “coexisting with the new coronavirus”. This can be achieved thanks to strict vaccination programmes. Recently, China has also begun to signal that travel restrictions may be lifted next year. This is based on the current vaccination rate of over 80%.
During the first week of October, China celebrated its National Holiday. Jinbo Market (the International Import products market), China’s first jinbo(CIIE) consumption theme format created by Greenland Group, has once again become a popular destination for tourists across the country in Shanghai. As of 6pm on October 3, the average daily passenger flow of the nearly 550-square-meter Jinbo Fair on National Day doubled, and the sales in 3 days exceeded one million.
3. Food and beverage industry
During October, the wine industry produced much discussion and changes. The Consumer Goods Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced it will increase its support for the development of Xinjiang’s wine industry, and work with relevant ministries and industry associations to support its development. Also, on October 11, the Shanghai Representative Office of the Bordeaux Wine Industry Joint Committee (France) was formally established, indicating that more communication windows will be added, making sales and trade more convenient.
The Australian wine market continues to battle difficult conditions. The United Kingdom was once regarded as the main market for cheap wine, but now it has replaced China as Australia’s number one export destination for high-end wine. The Australian Treasury Wine Estates has become one of the most severely hit stocks on the ASX due to China’s high tariffs, but the group said it has not given up on the Chinese market. The export of French daily wine is showing a positive trend, with sales increasing by 7% in the first half of 2021. China is now the fifth largest export market for French daily table wines.
4. Health & Wellbeing
People are willing to pay a premium for the satisfaction of their own feelings and experiences, and more and more consumers are willing to pay for higher-quality natural and healthy imported products. An interest which has developed from this trend is the health effects of essential oils. Consumers’ attention to essential oil aromatherapy has doubled and the consumer market of essential oils is on the rise.
The scale of China’s nutritional and healthy food market reached 600 billion yuan in 2019(China Nutrition and Health Food Association), which is expected to become the world’s largest nutritional and healthy food consumer market. Asia is more focused on probiotics that boost the immune system. According to the Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology, the probiotics market in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to reach us $31.67 billion (46% of the global market).
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