Prospects of the food machinery industry: China's food machinery industry moves towards new heights

China Report Hall Network News: Food machinery is gradually entering the era of personalization, and the direction of automated production of food machinery in China is changing. At present, there are many products in food machinery production that can keep up with advanced levels, but there are relatively few products with independent intellectual property rights and technological innovation. The following is an analysis of the prospects for the food machinery industry in 2023.

The 2022-2027 China Food Machinery Industry Market Demand and Investment Consulting Report states that in December 2021, the import quantity of food processing machinery in China was 20000 units, a year-on-year increase of 55.4%, with an import value of 63 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 15.8%. In December 2021, the export quantity of food processing machinery in China was 890000 units, a year-on-year increase of 23.4%, with an export value of 175 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 11.5%; From January to December 2021, the import quantity of food processing machinery in China was 150000 units, with an import value of 733 million US dollars, and the export quantity was 9.58 million units, with an export value of 1.772 billion US dollars.

Most food machinery manufacturers mainly focus on primary and small products, while some large machinery products rely heavily on imports. Most food processing and packaging equipment has entered the upgrade period. Only a few food processing companies have introduced and transformed technology. Most companies are still in a backward state of manual and semi mechanized processing, requiring the introduction of advanced technology and equipment. There are significant business opportunities in this market. Analyze the prospects of the food machinery industry in 2023 based on six major development trends.

1. Production efficiency and automation

Throughout the development history of food machinery and equipment, especially since the 21st century, there has not been a significant change in the food machinery and equipment itself. The most obvious change is the emergence of mechatronics products and the increasing level of automatic control. These products not only have high productivity, but also accurate control of process parameters, good product quality, and automatic protection devices that will automatically shut down in the event of a malfunction.

2. High utilization of food resources

In recent years, the comprehensive utilization of resources has gradually developed towards a comprehensive and deep level. Based on breakthroughs in technology, corresponding equipment has been developed, such as extracting soy protein, soy activated carbon, and soy fiber from soybean meal after oil extraction; In addition, food machinery and equipment should minimize the loss rate of food and nutrients during the processing, such as using new technologies such as not directly heating food, short heating time, or low-temperature heating, to maximize the preservation of food's "original state".

3. The product is highly energy-efficient

Vigorously developing efficient and energy-saving products, especially heat treatment products, is currently the focus of the development of food machinery and equipment. The seven effect evaporator designed by FMC Corporation in the United States can evaporate 5.7kg of water per kilogram of steam, reducing steam consumption by 42% compared to the four effect evaporator and 84% compared to the one effect evaporator. Compared with the primary and secondary spray dryers, the built-in fluidized bed three-stage spray dryer developed by Nippon Nippon Co., Ltd. can save 30% energy, occupy less space, and has the granulation function.

4. Practical application of high-tech

The promotion and application of high-tech technologies such as microelectronics, optoelectronics, vacuum technology, membrane separation technology, extrusion and puffing technology, microwave technology, ultrafine grinding technology, supercritical extraction technology, ultra-high pressure sterilization technology, low-temperature sterilization technology, and intelligent technology in food machinery and equipment have broad application prospects, and some have already been put into practical use or achieved considerable application results. High tech has become a decisive factor in the competitiveness of food machinery and equipment.

5. Product standards tend to be internationalized

The international (or European) standards for food machinery and equipment are increasingly accepted and adopted by countries around the world, and are gradually becoming a universally adopted technical standard globally. This is also beneficial for the smooth development of international food machinery and equipment technology exchange and trade.

6. Practicality of new design methods

Developed countries attach great importance to introducing modern design concepts and methods into food machinery and equipment to enhance product competitiveness, which has become a trend in the development of food machinery and equipment design. In short, the current level of design, manufacturing, research, and use of food machinery and equipment in China is relatively low. In order to meet the needs of national economic development and people's practical requirements for food, it is necessary to focus on introducing new technologies, striving to complete the transformation of existing technologies and the upgrading of old products, researching and developing new models and new food production lines suitable for China's actual situation, and strengthening the research on the basic theory of food machinery and equipment.