Coffee common sense how far is China from a big coffee consumer?

In Fushan Town, located in a corner of western Hainan Province, the fragrant coffee shops are full all the year round. The local residents consume more than 200 cups of coffee per capita every year. This amazing consumption makes coffee suppliers from all over the world who come here to participate in the International Barista Championship admire.

"The Chinese are beginning to be interested in coffee culture, which makes me see huge market potential." The Consul General of the Consulate General of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Melaku Leges, said in an interview.

At the 3rd China Fushan Cup International Barista Championship held in Fushan Town, Chengmai County, top players from 12 countries and regions competed for the championship, attracting more than 200 professionals from all over the world to promote their own local coffee.

"The Chinese are starting to value coffee," David, a coffee vendor from Uganda, told reporters."With the spread of coffee culture and the rise of the middle class, the coffee market here is growing rapidly."

With the increasing diversification of domestic drinks in China, coffee gradually linked with fashion and modern life has led to a rapid increase in coffee consumption in China. Relevant statistics show that in 2012, coffee consumption in China was about 130,000 tons, and coffee consumption in China will continue to grow at an annual rate of 15%-20% in the future, which is expected to become the most potential coffee consumer in the world.

However, many professionals said that although the growth rate of China's coffee consumption market is gratifying, the coffee culture is not mature enough, the regional consumption market is uneven, and at the same time, due to the lack of domestic brands that can tap and spread China's local coffee culture.

"The number of cafes in China has exploded, but coffee consumers have not followed suit." Ji Ming, president of Beijing Coffee Industry Association, said that in recent years, coffee consumption in first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai and some southern cities has indeed increased rapidly, but China's current per capita annual coffee consumption is only 5 cups, far lower than Japan and South Korea's annual per capita level of about 300 cups, and the world average is also about 240 cups.

Huang Huiying, president of Guangdong Province Food Culture Research Association, believes that coffee has developed into a new favorite for many young people, but Chinese coffee culture is not mature enough, and many people drink coffee to catch up with the trend.

In terms of brand development, the Chinese market is currently almost divided by foreign brands. In the freshly ground coffee consumption market, following Starbucks 'strong entry into the Chinese market, international brands such as Seattle Coffee in the United States, Baiyi Coffee in Canada and Second Cup Coffee in Canada have followed suit for six times. International brands such as Nestle and Maxwell account for more than half of the instant coffee consumer market.

Xu Shibing, president of Hainan Coffee Association, said that due to geographical location and climate constraints, Yunnan, Hainan and Sichuan are the main coffee producing areas in China at present, with limited production. There are many coffee enterprises in China, mainly supplying raw materials and small coffee enterprises, and the leading enterprises grow slowly.

Statistics from Yunnan Province Coffee Industry Association show that in 2013, Yunnan coffee planting area exceeded 1.4 million mu, and its coffee planting area and output accounted for more than 90% of Chinese coffee. However, in the 2012 - 2013 season, Yunnan's total coffee bean production was about 82,000 tons, of which more than 50,000 tons were exported overseas.

Due to the lack of standardized identification and operation from raw material cultivation to product production to coffee brewing, Chinese local coffee enterprises are facing the challenge of specialization, scale and branding.

"China needs to cultivate a group of local brands that combine local geographical and cultural characteristics, can devote themselves to improving the standardized production of coffee, further spread coffee culture, and cultivate people's consumption habits. This requires government support, and also depends on enterprises themselves to go out more to learn and cooperate." Ji Ming said.