Last year, consumers here and on the mainland ate and drank their way through US $3.899bn worth of Californian food products, a 19.5% increase on 2012. The overall rise in consumption spending and demand for higher quality food products should lead to a similar double-digit increase by the end of 2014.
Hong Kong and China shoppers are discriminating more and more about their food purchases. They are actively seeking out more information about nutrition, sustainability and safety, which is driving demand for higher quality products.
Quality tends to be associated with ‘country of origin’; something that consumers respond to when making purchasing decisions. California and US food products are positioned as high quality, which helps to explain the growth of US food exports across greater China.
Commenting on Hong Kong and China’s increased imports of Californian produce, Jeff Williamson, director, California State Trade and Export Promotion, said: “The growing number of food and wine products imported to HK and China is a tremendous achievement of California’s produce gaining acceptance at an ever increasing rate with the discerning palates of consumers in Hong Kong and China. Rising exports reaffirms a longstanding commitment to provide a diverse, quality product portfolio to customers.”
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