Sep 11, 2018 (China Knowledge) - In recent years there has been a surge in pet ownership in China. Currently, there are an estimated 73.55 million pet owners, and spent RMB 5,016 annually on each pet on average, up by 15% from last year. Spending on pets is expected to rise by 27% this year to RMB 170.8 bln.

To cope with the rising demand, China has seen an increase in variety of pet food available. Pet owners in China are increasingly well-informed of their pet’s health and even look for prescription foods. Other expenses include grooming, vaccination and medical treatment.

The growing popularity of pets is turning China into a magnet for local and global pet companies due to huge growth potential. For example, Beijing has seen a surge in the number of pet-related stores such as pet-themed restaurants, cafes and retail stores which target the middle-income pet owners.

From August 22 to 26, Shanghai hosted the Pet Fair Asia which sets the benchmarks and trendsetters on pet supplies in Asia-Pacific for more than 1,300 exhibitors.

This has also hit the e-commerce market, with Taobao and JD.com both setting up pet categories on their websites. Alibaba’s e-commerce website Taobao alone recorded USD 1 bln of sales for cats’ food and cat-related items in 2017.