The Chinese pet industry is expected to surpass $110 million next year, showing rapid growth. In June, China will launch its first product for a Thailand trip with a pet dog on a chartered plane.
On May 20, China Securities News reported that as the pet economy grows, travel agencies, airlines, and other businesses constantly introduce various products and services. According to the recently released 2024 Pet Trend Report, the scale of China’s pet economy is expected to exceed about $110 million by 2025.
Xia Xuying, the co-founder of China’s pet travel operator iBabyGo, said, “We have chartered a flight for June, and for the first time in China, pets will be allowed to travel overseas in the cabin.”
Xia Xuying, “Traveling with pets is our special service. Previously, pets could not enter the aircraft cabin and faced many conditions and restrictions even when consigned to cargo. By chartering flights, we have met customers’ demand to travel in the cabin with their pets.” Xia added, “Since 2021, we have already chartered more than 30 flights to travel across China.”
Xia continued, “The trip to Thailand in June is the first to test the possibility of traveling with pets abroad. If it goes well, we plan to develop additional travel products to Bali and Finland.” He predicted the company’s sales would grow by about 30% this year.
In addition to travel, the Chinese market for pet food, grooming, and medical care is also rapidly growing. According to the 2023 China Pet Health Consumption Report released by market research firm iDigital, young Chinese people spend about $725 annually on their pets. Zhang Zhao, who raises two dogs and one cat in China, told China Securities News that he spends about $42 per pet annually for pet insurance.
Meanwhile, China is the second-largest pet market following the U.S. According to the 2023-2024 China Pet Industry White Paper, as of the end of last year, the number of pet dogs in China increased by 1.1% from the previous year to 51.75 million, and the number of pet cats increased by 6.8% to 69.8 million.
As the Chinese pet industry grows, related companies also increase rapidly. China Securities News reported that as of May 17, pet-related companies reached 4,107,000, and 543,000 were newly established from January to April this year.
Most Commented