In recent years, China's canned food has been selling hot overseas, and the export volume has continued to jump, and in 2022, China's canned food exports and export value increased by 12% and 22% year-on-year, respectively, both hitting new highs in recent years. China has been the largest producer and exporter of canned food for many years, accounting for about a quarter of the world's production. Why can small cans show their talents in the international market, and what are the reasons behind them?
The reporter learned during the visit that canning, as one of the earliest industries in China in line with international standards, relies on the scale of output and cost advantages, and its share in the international market has increased year by year. In recent years, China's canning production technology has been continuously upgraded, especially the improvement of the automation level of the production line, which has reduced the production cost while improving the quality, so that the export advantage of canned food has been expanding.
CCTV reporter Wu Nanxin: This is an automated production line of canned corn, after a fresh corn enters the production line, it only takes 20 minutes to remove impurities, remove from screening, and then fill and seal. In the past, it used to take six or seven hundred workers to produce 200 tons of such canned corn, but now it only takes 50 workers to complete it.
In Zhangzhou, Fujian, there are thousands of canned food export enterprises, producing canned food accounting for about 15.6% of the country's total canned food exports. At present, the automated production of major varieties has been basically realized, and the level of automation is still improving.
Lin Fadai, deputy director of Zhangzhou Customs: In the first quarter of this year, Zhangzhou exported 9,8 tons of canned food, mainly meat, fruits, fish and other three categories, which were exported to more than 160 countries and regions around the world.
Data show that in the past year, there have been more than 500 canning-related patent applications nationwide, covering canned disinfection, sterilization, cleaning, sorting, sealing and other aspects. In the first two months of 2023, China exported a total of 52,33 tons of various canned foods, with an export value of US$12.2 billion, an increase of 10% and 23% respectively year-on-year.