The 2022 China (Shandong) Prefabricated Food Industry Development Conference took place in Zibo, East China's Shandong province, on June 15.
Prefabricated food, generally known as semi-prepared dishes, can be eaten after basic cooking procedures such as the microwave and oven heating, and boiling.
A Shejian Technology (Beijing) Co Ltd salesperson displays the company's prefabricated food products at a supermarket. [Photo/zbnews.net]
Because of the convenience, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, prefabricated foods have been in high demand in recent years.
According to a report produced by Shenzhen-based research firm AskCI Consulting, China's current market size for ready-to-eat food is around 300 billion yuan ($47 billion), with the potential to grow to 1 trillion yuan in the next six to seven years and more than 3 trillion yuan in the long term, and the city of Zibo is attempting to tap into this vast market.
At the summit, a China prefabricated food industry park federation was formed. In addition, Zibo issued a development fund of 2 billion yuan ($300 million) for the development of the prefabricated food industry, and established a 3-billion-yuan fund for cold-chain logistics, which demonstrates the city's ambition to build a leading prefabricated food industry.
The exterior view of a cold chain warehouse in Qilu Prefabricated Food Industrial Park in Zibo. [Photo/zbnews.net]
The city expects to take five years to help the prefabricated food industry reach an output value of 100 billion yuan, according to a local government official.
Zibo has a solid foundation to develop the industry. As the origin of the Lu cuisine and a large agricultural base in China, Zibo is blessed with abundant raw materials and has an established network for research and sales. Coupled with its cooperation with leading enterprises, Zibo's prefabricated food industry is said to usher in opportunities for its high-quality development.
A rendering of the planned prefabricated food industry center in Zibo. [Photo/zbnews.net]
