For the seventh consecutive year, the Asia-Pacific vegetable market recorded growth in sales value, which increased by 2.9% to $785.6B in 2019. The market value increased at an average annual rate of +2.7% from 2013 to 2019; the trend pattern remained relatively stable, with somewhat noticeable fluctuations in certain years.
Over the period under review, the market hit record highs in 2019 and is likely to see gradual growth in the near future.
Consumption by Country
China (622M tonnes) constituted the country with the largest volume of vegetable consumption, comprising approx. 68% of total volume. Moreover, vegetable consumption in China exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest consumer, India (170M tonnes), fourfold. The third position in this ranking was occupied by Viet Nam (18M tonnes), with a 2% share.
From 2013 to 2019, the average annual rate of growth in terms of volume in China totaled +2.1%. The remaining consuming countries recorded the following average annual rates of consumption growth: India (+2.0% per year) and Viet Nam (+4.4% per year).
In value terms, China ($536.6B) led the market, alone. The second position in the ranking was occupied by India ($92.9B). It was followed by Viet Nam.
In 2019, the highest levels of vegetable per capita consumption was registered in China (427 kg per person), followed by Viet Nam (187 kg per person), India (124 kg per person) and Bangladesh (95 kg per person), while the world average per capita consumption of vegetable was estimated at 216 kg per person.
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Market Forecast to 2030
Vegetables constitute one of the world's basic food items; their production and consumption are widespread almost everywhere in the world. Vegetables are consumed in both fresh and processed form, as ingredients, canned food, etc. The demand for vegetables, therefore, mainly depends on the population growth and its dietary requirements; it is also determined to a certain extent by local household income, as vegetables constitute a staple dietary component. However, as incomes rise from the average figure and above, vegetable consumption is likely to increase at a slower rate than the consumption of more expensive food items (e.g. meat).
Since vegetables constitute staple food items, the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the demand should not lead to a sharp fall in consumption. Moreover, since most of the common vegetables are grown locally, the risk of the disruption of established supply chains including foreign growers, food handling and packaging intermediaries, as well as the distributor sector, due to asynchronous quarantine measures in different countries, will be less relevant. However, for imported vegetables, this could be a factor that hampers the market growth.
Over 2020-2021, accordingly, the market is set to grow slowly, driven by population growth and the demand for food. In the medium term, the market is expected to continue an upward consumption trend driven by increasing demand for vegetables. Market performance is forecast to retain its current trend pattern, expanding with an anticipated CAGR of +2.2% for the period from 2019 to 2030, which is projected to bring the market volume to 1,162M tonnes by the end of 2030.
Imports in Asia-Pacific
In 2019, after four years of growth, there was a decline in supplies from abroad of vegetables, when their volume decreased by -0.5% to 7.5M tonnes. The total import volume increased at an average annual rate of +1.9% from 2013 to 2019; the trend pattern remained relatively stable, with only minor fluctuations in certain years. Over the period under review, imports attained the maximum at 7.5M tonnes in 2018 and then dropped modestly in the following year. In value terms, vegetable imports shrank modestly to $4.4B (IndexBox estimates) in 2019.
Imports by Country
Malaysia (1,270K tonnes), Hong Kong SAR (856K tonnes), Japan (775K tonnes) and Indonesia (756K tonnes) represented roughly 49% of total imports of vegetables in 2019. Singapore (476K tonnes) held a 6.4% share (based on tonnes) of total imports, which put it in second place, followed by Thailand (5.7%), Sri Lanka (5.4%) and Bangladesh (4.7%). Nepal (304K tonnes), Taiwan (Chinese) (269K tonnes), Pakistan (261K tonnes), South Korea (261K tonnes) and Afghanistan (208K tonnes) followed a long way behind the leaders.
From 2013 to 2019, the most notable rate of growth in terms of purchases, amongst the key importing countries, was attained by Bangladesh, while imports for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.
In value terms, the largest vegetable importing markets in Asia-Pacific were Japan ($742M), Indonesia ($609M) and Malaysia ($584M), together accounting for 44% of total imports. These countries were followed by Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan (Chinese), South Korea, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Nepal, which together accounted for a further 46%.
