Page 200 - 2019 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
P. 200
9 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
Loaders, excavators and forklifts maintained high new facilities to replace backyard pig farms that have
growth rate in export value. With the improving strength shut in recent years. Many are using foreign equipment
of China’s construction machinery manufacturing, many and expertise to boost efficiency and output. Family-
Chinese companies have entered the international owned Hog Slat’s aim is to have 10 plants in China within
market through mergers and acquisitions, which four years. The new plant will make 65,000 concrete slats
enables them to make use of the brand, technology per year for pig barn floors enough to supply roughly 18
and sales channels of the acquired targets so as to make large farms hosting around 8,000 sows each (Patton).
inroads into the global arena (Wood).
Robotics
Farm Equipment
According to Zhu Sen, honorary director of Expert
China had 1.14 million combine harvesters and 14.31 Committee of China Machinery Industry Federation
million items of irrigation and drainage equipment by the (CMIF), over 141 thousand industrial robots were sold in
end of 2016, up 105.3 percent and 6.1 percent respectively 2017, an increase of 58.1 percent compared with that of
compared with a decade ago, according to results of the the previous year, among which, 37.8 thousand robots
country’s third national agricultural survey. Li Weiguo, an were Chinese brands, an increase of 29.8 percent, and
official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said 103.2 thousand were foreign brands, an increase of 71.9
that China would advance the scientific and technological percent. “This indicates that China has placed no limits
innovation of agricultural machines, providing efficient upon market access,” Zhu said (Zhang, Improving). By the
equipment and technical support for the upgrading end of 2017, Guangdong had had the largest number of
of its agricultural mechanization. Accompanying the robotics companies in China. From January to May this
increasing use of machinery is the growth of scale farming. year, Guangdong have produced 13,621 robots, a year-
Around 2 million specialized farmer’s cooperatives were on-year increase of 54.9 percent. Currently, China has
registered in China by the end of 2017, 76 times the 6,500 robotics companies (Chen and Wang).
number a decade prior. Currently, the cooperatives have
over 100 million rural households participating, which China robotics industry is experiencing a transitional
account for 46.8 percent of the country’s total. Through period, from focusing on quantity to quality, as it rapidly
specialized cooperatives, farmers engaged in the same become a global leader in automation. From 2018 to 2020,
kind of agricultural production are able to pool resources a sales increase between 15 and 20 percent on average per
and increase productivity. “The development of farmers’ year is possible for industrial robots. Annual sales volume
cooperatives in China will accelerate its land circulation, has currently reached the highest level ever recorded for
heralding greater demands for agricultural machinery a single country: Within a year, sales in China surged by 27
and fierce competition among equipment manufacturers percent to 87,000 units in 2016. The operational stock of
home and abroad,” said Liu Xiaoran, an expert with the industrial robots marks the highest level in the world. At
China National Association of Grain Sector. The big market the same time, Chinese robot manufacturers expand the
has attracted foreign brands. World famous equipment market share in their home country. “China is by far the
manufacturers such as John Deere and AGCO from the US biggest robot market in the world regarding annual sales
and Italy’s SDF Group are frequent visitors of machinery and regarding the operational stock,” said Joe Gemma,
exhibitions and agricultural fairs held in China (Xinhua, President of the International Federation of Robotics
Technology Reshaping). (IFR). “It is the fastest growing market worldwide. There
has never been such a dynamic rise in such a short period
The largest US maker of equipment for pig farms of time in any other market.” The main drivers of the
opened a new factory in China in 2018, investing in its latest growth in China are the electrical and electronics
third plant in the world’s top hog market in the hopes industry. Sales increased by 75 percent to almost 30,000
that an ambitious push into large-scale pig farming will units in that same year. Chinese suppliers produced
bring a surge in demand. The move sees privately owned about one third of the robots, more than doubling their
Hog Slat Inc invest US$2 million into building the plant sales by almost 120 percent. This remarkable demand will
near Guiyang. North Carolina-based Hog Slat is seeking further grow in the future. Major contract manufacturers
to extend its foothold as one of a handful of foreign of electronic devices have already started to automate
firms operating in a sector dominated by small domestic production. The semiconductor and the chip industries,
players. Chinese companies are building hundreds of for example, have strongly invested in automation. Large
200
Loaders, excavators and forklifts maintained high new facilities to replace backyard pig farms that have
growth rate in export value. With the improving strength shut in recent years. Many are using foreign equipment
of China’s construction machinery manufacturing, many and expertise to boost efficiency and output. Family-
Chinese companies have entered the international owned Hog Slat’s aim is to have 10 plants in China within
market through mergers and acquisitions, which four years. The new plant will make 65,000 concrete slats
enables them to make use of the brand, technology per year for pig barn floors enough to supply roughly 18
and sales channels of the acquired targets so as to make large farms hosting around 8,000 sows each (Patton).
inroads into the global arena (Wood).
Robotics
Farm Equipment
According to Zhu Sen, honorary director of Expert
China had 1.14 million combine harvesters and 14.31 Committee of China Machinery Industry Federation
million items of irrigation and drainage equipment by the (CMIF), over 141 thousand industrial robots were sold in
end of 2016, up 105.3 percent and 6.1 percent respectively 2017, an increase of 58.1 percent compared with that of
compared with a decade ago, according to results of the the previous year, among which, 37.8 thousand robots
country’s third national agricultural survey. Li Weiguo, an were Chinese brands, an increase of 29.8 percent, and
official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said 103.2 thousand were foreign brands, an increase of 71.9
that China would advance the scientific and technological percent. “This indicates that China has placed no limits
innovation of agricultural machines, providing efficient upon market access,” Zhu said (Zhang, Improving). By the
equipment and technical support for the upgrading end of 2017, Guangdong had had the largest number of
of its agricultural mechanization. Accompanying the robotics companies in China. From January to May this
increasing use of machinery is the growth of scale farming. year, Guangdong have produced 13,621 robots, a year-
Around 2 million specialized farmer’s cooperatives were on-year increase of 54.9 percent. Currently, China has
registered in China by the end of 2017, 76 times the 6,500 robotics companies (Chen and Wang).
number a decade prior. Currently, the cooperatives have
over 100 million rural households participating, which China robotics industry is experiencing a transitional
account for 46.8 percent of the country’s total. Through period, from focusing on quantity to quality, as it rapidly
specialized cooperatives, farmers engaged in the same become a global leader in automation. From 2018 to 2020,
kind of agricultural production are able to pool resources a sales increase between 15 and 20 percent on average per
and increase productivity. “The development of farmers’ year is possible for industrial robots. Annual sales volume
cooperatives in China will accelerate its land circulation, has currently reached the highest level ever recorded for
heralding greater demands for agricultural machinery a single country: Within a year, sales in China surged by 27
and fierce competition among equipment manufacturers percent to 87,000 units in 2016. The operational stock of
home and abroad,” said Liu Xiaoran, an expert with the industrial robots marks the highest level in the world. At
China National Association of Grain Sector. The big market the same time, Chinese robot manufacturers expand the
has attracted foreign brands. World famous equipment market share in their home country. “China is by far the
manufacturers such as John Deere and AGCO from the US biggest robot market in the world regarding annual sales
and Italy’s SDF Group are frequent visitors of machinery and regarding the operational stock,” said Joe Gemma,
exhibitions and agricultural fairs held in China (Xinhua, President of the International Federation of Robotics
Technology Reshaping). (IFR). “It is the fastest growing market worldwide. There
has never been such a dynamic rise in such a short period
The largest US maker of equipment for pig farms of time in any other market.” The main drivers of the
opened a new factory in China in 2018, investing in its latest growth in China are the electrical and electronics
third plant in the world’s top hog market in the hopes industry. Sales increased by 75 percent to almost 30,000
that an ambitious push into large-scale pig farming will units in that same year. Chinese suppliers produced
bring a surge in demand. The move sees privately owned about one third of the robots, more than doubling their
Hog Slat Inc invest US$2 million into building the plant sales by almost 120 percent. This remarkable demand will
near Guiyang. North Carolina-based Hog Slat is seeking further grow in the future. Major contract manufacturers
to extend its foothold as one of a handful of foreign of electronic devices have already started to automate
firms operating in a sector dominated by small domestic production. The semiconductor and the chip industries,
players. Chinese companies are building hundreds of for example, have strongly invested in automation. Large
200
