1、 Twenty year review:
Looking back at the past 20 years of reform and opening up, under the guidance of Comrade Deng Xiaoping's theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics and the Party's basic line, China's economic development has undergone earth shaking changes compared to 30 years ago. In order to change the backwardness of China's packaging industry, the China Packaging Technology Association was established in December 1980 with the approval of the State Council, which was the first pilot association in China. Four months later, in April 1981, the Metal Container Professional Committee was established. Over the past 20 years, under the leadership of the China Packaging Association and with the support of relevant departments and member units, the metal container packaging industry has made significant progress. A metal packaging system has been formed that integrates iron cans, cans, aerosol cans, bottle caps, and steel drums, and is one of the important categories under the leadership of the China Packaging Association.
The Metal Container Committee has gone through ups and downs over the past twenty years, from small to large, from weak to strong, and has developed rapidly. 20 years ago in 1979, the metal container packaging industry did not yet have its own industry organization. At that time, there were only less than 200 enterprises of various sizes in the country, with the majority being small and medium-sized enterprises. By the beginning of the 1990s, the number had grown to over 700, an increase of more than 500 in 10 years, and an average of 50 enterprises were born annually. Especially during the period of the "Eighth Five Year Plan" (91-95), it was the peak of the development of metal containers, reaching 1100 by the end of 1995. At present, according to close statistics, there are as many as 1500 households, with Guangdong, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and other places being the majority, with Guangdong being the most. In recent years, the Beijing Tianjin region and the three northeastern provinces have developed rapidly.
The main reasons for the rapid development of the metal container packaging industry are: firstly, foreign investors have targeted the large market of China and flocked to invest and cooperate in setting up factories in China; Secondly, due to macroeconomic imbalances, township enterprises have blindly launched projects, resulting in oversupply in the market in recent years. Some enterprises have experienced semi production shutdowns and losses, entering a low point. This is only a temporary phenomenon, and this year is better than last year. With the increase in production in related industries, metal containers have ushered in a "rising sun".
2、 Current Industry Overview
Despite facing some difficulties at present, overall, the future development trend is promising. According to statistics, the total output of metal container packaging products increased by 3.6 times from 350000 tons at the end of 1979 to 1.6 million tons compared to the end of 2000, achieving brilliant achievements.
Metal container packaging is a high-end packaging material that consumers love. There are a wide variety of products with different shapes, including aluminum two-piece cans, tinplate two-piece cans, tinplate three piece cans, aerosol cans, food cans, various solid food barrels, cans, boxes, anti-theft covers, crown covers, unscrewed covers, easy pull covers, and steel barrels of different specifications. The advantages of metal packaging are: beautiful printing on the outside, anti-corrosion coating on the inside, long shelf life, easy to carry, and it makes a positive contribution to the supporting services of commodity packaging in related industries such as food, canned food, beverages, oils, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cultural and educational supplies, and cosmetics. The high starting point, large investment, advanced equipment, exquisite technology and craftsmanship, and talent gathering of foreign-funded enterprises have promoted the rapid development of the metal container industry through advanced enterprise management. According to preliminary investigations in the metal industry, state-owned enterprises account for 33%, foreign-funded enterprises account for 25%, collective enterprises account for 31.5%, wholly foreign-owned enterprises account for 3%, private enterprises account for 7%, and state-owned enterprises still dominate. But in terms of scale and assets, the economic strength of foreign-funded enterprises ranks first.
3、 Future Development Trends
1. China's economy will continue to develop, and the production of goods related to metal container packaging will inevitably show a growth trend in the future, which will gradually push the metal container packaging industry out of the trough. According to research, the food industry developed at its fastest in 1997, with a total output value of over 530 billion yuan, ranking first in the national light industry. In many food industries, there are always a considerable number of products that use metal barrels and cans.
2. The beverage industry is developing rapidly, with a wide variety of beverages and brands doubling in recent years. The beverage industry is heading towards prosperity. The beverage industry started relatively late, dating back to 1982 when China's annual beverage production was only 440000 tons, with an annual per capita of less than 0.43 kilograms; In 1992, it reached 4.2 million tons, with an annual per capita of 4.4 kilograms; By 1998, the national beverage production had reached 12 million tons, with an annual per capita of 9.6 kilograms. That is to say, from 1982 to 1998, there was a 22 fold increase, which is 1.8 times higher than in 1992. The main reason for the rapid development is the increased efforts to crack down on counterfeits, the increase in variety, the improvement of quality, and the emphasis on the nutritional value of beverages. The emergence of numerous brands has driven great development. Although plastic bottles, glass bottles, Tetra Pak packaging and other packaging products have a certain share in the beverage industry, two-piece cans and three piece cans still have an advantage.
3. Canned food industry: China's canned food industry began in 1906, when Shanghai Taifeng Food Company was the first food canning factory in China. Afterwards, some small-scale canned food processing factories were established in a few cities. In 1949, the national canned food production was only 484 tons, and canned food was an emerging industry that gradually developed from 1953. It has now become one of the main industries in the food industry. In 1953, there were only over 20 canning factories in China. By 1997, the number of canning enterprises had grown to 1495, with an annual output of 2.54 million tons. The highest year was in 1995, when it reached 305 tons, of which 860000 tons were exported. In recent years, the average annual export volume has been between 700000 and 800000 tons. Its varieties mainly include mushrooms, asparagus, horse hooves, broad beans, oranges, white peaches, luncheon meat, steamed beef, steamed pork, tomato sauce, etc. Each type has an export volume of over 10000 tons, ranking first in the world in terms of export volume. It is expected that the total amount of canned food in China will reach 4.5 million tons by 2005, with an export volume of 1.2 million tons, and 8 million tons by 2010. Among them, metal can packaging accounts for an important share, and the export of canned packaging materials is mainly made of tinplate drums and cans. According to relevant data, the canning industry consumes about 350000 tons of tinplate annually.
4. Beer: In 1999, the national production reached 20 million tons, becoming the world's second largest beer producer, with bottled packaging being the main packaging material. About 4% of the beer is packaged in two piece cans, and if calculated at 4%, there are 800000 tons of beer packaged in two piece cans, with an annual demand of approximately 25 trillion pieces. It is expected that in the future, with the improvement of consumers' living standards, aluminum two-piece cans will have the advantages of long shelf life, easy carrying and lid opening, and the market share of metal cans will gradually increase.
5. With the growth of the economy, industries such as petrochemicals, petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, culture and education, cosmetics, etc. are bound to soar. The demand for metal barrels and cans in these industries will double.
Despite the aforementioned advantages, there are also some unfavorable factors. After joining the WTO, it faces more intense competition both domestically and internationally. In the author's opinion, after joining the WTO, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks for the packaging industry. What are the advantages? We believe that although foreign goods have flooded in after China's accession to the WTO, it is not cost-effective to transport them across the ocean from the contents in solid cans, which is a temporary phenomenon. In the long run, foreign companies will gradually establish factories and produce domestically in China. As long as the quality of the empty can products meets the requirements of foreign companies, they still use domestic barrels and cans. Secondly, due to the reduction of tariffs after joining the WTO, the import prices of tinplate, aluminum and related auxiliary materials will inevitably decrease, which is beneficial for the cost reduction of the domestic can industry. The disadvantage is that if the quality of our products does not meet the requirements, they may still be able to transport empty cans from abroad to fill physical goods domestically. This situation is unlikely to occur.
4、 New Century Development Strategy
1. With the advent of the new century, it can be seen that related industries are increasing production, which will drive the metal container industry out of its slump. After joining the WTO, competition will become even more intense, and we must win by "quality". Domestic peers should not lower prices at a loss, as there is no need to engage in wars and smoke. We must consciously abide by the principle of price self-discipline, unite and discuss industry issues together. Despite the difficulties in price coordination, we are prepared to invite leading enterprises in the industry to hold a symposium to discuss price coordination issues.
In order to meet the challenges after joining the WTO, domestic and foreign enterprises will compete on an equal footing on the world economic stage. The key depends on comprehensive strength, and only large groups can be competitive. We cannot continue to follow the path of "small but comprehensive" and "large but comprehensive" alone. We should gradually move towards specialized production and launch packaging brand products. High quality products, reasonable prices, and good after-sales service are necessary to find a way out, and it is recommended that strong enterprises form large groups to be competitive internationally.
Regarding the issue of the Western Development, the central government has proposed the Western Development Strategy to accelerate the development of the western region, which is of great significance for expanding domestic demand and promoting sustained growth of the national economy. The packaging industry is no exception. With the westward expansion of many related industries such as food industry, canned food industry, beverage industry, beer industry, and oil and chemical industry, the metal packaging industry should be prepared with advanced thinking. In the eastern region, people with dense packaging industry and many monks and porridge but little insight should move towards the west. Wahaha Group has been expanding into the western region for six years, taking the lead in the beverage industry and achieving greater development. But for the packaging industry to conduct research, it is important to keep up with companies that need metal packaging drums and cans, and cooperate or form joint ventures with them. The association can work together with large enterprise groups that have the intention of advancing westward to conduct research in the western region, and seek the help of local packaging associations for on-site inspections to avoid uncertain battles.
4. Talent introduction is more important. Currently, there is fierce competition for talent both domestically and internationally, and the promotion of science and technology in education takes the lead. While introducing high-quality talents, it is necessary to strengthen the cultivation of cultural and technical qualities for personnel with lower original qualities. A combination of short-term training and further education in universities should be adopted to improve the overall quality of the staff.
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