Americans aren’t the only ones who love their pets. According to information from ACNeilsen 2000, New Zealanders have pet ownership levels among the highest in the world – 52 percent of households have a cat, 18 percent have two or more cats, and 28 percent have a dog.
High pet ownership translates to a very large, active, and growing pet food market in New Zealand. The cat food market volume is 38,500 tons valued at $117.5 million, and growing by 3.7 percent in value. The dog food market volume is 41,100 tons valued at $74.6 million, and growing by 3.9 percent. Canned products dominate the cat food market, valued at $79.9 million, with dry products accounting for $29.4 million in sales, and chilled products at $8.2 million. All figures are in U.S. dollars.
The dog food market is dominated by chilled products at $40.3 million in value, dry products account for $20.1 million in sales, and canned products $14.2 million. The chilled and dry market segments are growing, while canned products remain static. There is an estimated 220 pet stores and 400 retail veterinary outlets together selling pet food valued at $14 million. Dry products dominate both types of outlets.
Korean Market Booming
According to the December 2001 AgExporter, the Korean market for pet food has increased 600 percent over the past 10 years, as pet ownership – mainly of dogs – has become more common, and pet owners more frequently buy commercial food. The United States supplied 64 percent of the $14 million in pet food imported by Korea in 2000. Over the next few years, the pet food market is expected to grow 15 to 20 percent annually, and U.S. products have an opportunity to take a bigger bite of the market.
Austrian Market
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service’s 2001 report, in Austria there are 1.4 million cats, 581,000 dogs, 323,000 pet birds, 990,000 aquarium fish, and 686,000 other pets. At the same time, 26.8 percent of all households have one or more cats, 17 percent dogs, 4.5 percent birds, 3.5 percent aquarium fish, and 11.2 percent other pets. Approximately 44.6 percent have at least one pet.
Pet food is produced by 13 factories that had a combined labor force of 563 employees in 2000. In the same year, consumption of raw material totaled 52,000 metric tons (down 7.5 percent compared to 1999), of which 65 percent was covered by domestic production, 30 percent was imported from European Union (EU) countries, and six percent from non-EU countries.
Pet food consumption has been rising for many years. In 2000, sales by members of the Austrian pet food association were 81,000 metric tons, of which 38 percent accounted for dog food, 60 percent for cat food, one percent for bird food, and one percent for other pet foods (including aquarium fish). However, due to considerable imports by supermarket chains (non-members), actual sales are higher. Most of the dog and cat food market is covered by Master Food, which has a production plant in Austria and covers more than 70 percent of the energy value of prepared dog and cat food sold in Austria. The entire pet food market is estimated at around $.65 billion in U.S. dollars.
April 2002 Render