Denmark looks to expand food trade with China
Denmark said it's keen to deepen collaboration with China in terms of food trade and collaboration amid increasing awareness for health supplements and wellbeing.
"Danish food exports like pork, as well as dairy products like milk, butter and cheese, have been very successful in the Chinese market," said Jakob Linulf, consul general of Denmark in Shanghai.
Food export to China has been increasing steadily in recent years and many small and medium-sized companies are also actively participating in trade events. Some will be present at the third China International Import Expo in November.
Danish exports have been stable since the coronavirus outbreak and some food categories like pork even registered gains.
In 2019, China was the fourth-largest export market for Denmark with total export size at 36 billion kroner (US$5.75 billion), and around one-fourth of that was food exports.
Top categories include meat and meat products, fish and shellfish and dairy products, according to Food Nation, a public-private partnership established by the Danish government and leading private organizations.
"The upcoming third China International Import Expo is an important event for Danish exporters to China, and this year it's even more important to mark the openness of China," he said.
This year's expo will feature a joint Danish food pavilion under the theme of healthy living and healthy food, which will consist of 23 Danish companies.
Linulf points to two major trends which are organic food and healthy food supplement such as probiotics, vitamins and those related to healthy diet, of which he sees an acceleration after COVID-19.
"I see huge potential for collaboration between Denmark and Chinese companies in terms of food ingredients for mutual gain and collaboration in many areas," he said.
As many as 98 percent of ingredients produced in Denmark are exported and a stunning 14 percent of all food ingredients supplied to the global industry come from Denmark.
Leading pork processor Danish Crown last September opened its first Chinese factory in Jiaxing, in neighboring Zhejiang Province.
The US$61 million factory would divide pork into smaller retail packages and also process imported raw pork into sausage and bacon products.
Linulf also noted that Danish companies have been actively adopting Chinese taste to better capture local growth opportunities. For example pork producers have reduced the amount of salt in processed meat and cheesemakers also adjusted tastes such as the addition of fruity flavor to make them more acceptable.
