World Sales of Food Processing Machinery to Exceed $53 Billion in 2016

Global sales of food processing machinery are expected to climb 7.3 percent per year to $53.3 billion in 2016.  The main impetus for gains will come from increased demand for processed foods in developing nations as personal incomes rise.  On top of this, a dietary shift in countries like China and Brazil toward higher value-added foods such as meat and chocolate will prompt food manufacturers to broaden their operations and invest in additional manufacturing capacity in these areas.  Industrial bakery equipment (including pasta machinery) represents the largest product type, accounting for approximately one-fifth of all food processing machinery sales in 2011.  Bakery equipment will also post the largest value gains through 2016, reflecting the basic and essential nature of the food made by these units.  These and other trends, including market share and product segmentation, are presented in World Food Processing Machinery, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry market research firm.  

The Asia/Pacific region will record the fastest demand gains from 2011 through 2016, averaging 9.5 percent per year.  The strong Chinese market will be the primary driver of regional sales, as demand in the country will continue to advance at a rapid pace despite moderating from the 2006-2011 rate.  Healthy growth in India, Indonesia, and Thailand will complement sales gains in China.  Rising personal incomes will spur increased demand for processed foods and a dietary shift toward more costly, non-staple items, while advancing industrialization in these nations will make it more efficient to process basic foods such as grains, fruits, vegetables, and nuts by machine rather than manually.  Sales of food processing machinery in other developing areas of the world will, generally speaking, climb at a healthy pace.

Growth in food processing machinery demand in the world’s developed economies -- which include Australia, Canada, Japan, the US, and the countries of Western Europe -- was much slower than in industrializing nations between 2006 and 2011, and sales gains in most developed nations will continue to trail the world average through 2016.  As these nations have relatively stable dietary preferences and consistently high personal incomes, the food manufacturing industries in these countries are very mature, and as a result there will be fewer growth opportunities for food processing machinery manufacturers.

The Freedonia Group is a leading international business research company, founded in 1985, that publishes more than 100 industry research studies annually. This industry analysis provides an unbiased outlook and a reliable assessment of an industry and includes product segmentation and demand forecasts, industry trends, demand history, threats and opportunities, competitive strategies, market share determinations and company profiles.