Chinese Demand for Bottled Water Rising Rapidly
December 7, 2015The People’s Republic of China, the world’s most populous nation, currently has more than 1.3 billion citizens, and they’re thirsty.
According to news sources, the East Asian nation has become the largest consumer of bottled water in the world and is becoming a major producer. While per capita consumption of bottled water is still at nearly 20 percent below the world average, market experts expect trend lines to continue to rise sharply.
Chinese provincial government officials are looking for ways to boost production and quench rising domestic demand, according to The Guardian, a British national daily newspaper.
Tibet’s local government recently approved a 10-year expansion plan to tap into the Qinghai-Tibet plateau for water as a way to address consumer concerns about water population.
The paradox of China’s sharply rising demand for bottled water – especially in the last 20 years – lies in its citizens’ desire for assurances their bottled water is pure and, as the nation has prospered, their ability to spend more.
According to ChinaFile, an online magazine by the Center on U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society, top Chinese officials are increasingly thinking green when eyeing development projects to quell environmental concerns.
Chinese President Xi Jinping wants to build an “ecological civilization” and has tightened policies on forest conservation and expanded natural protection zones. As with the United States’ sometimes mixed sentiments on balancing conservation measures with commercial development needs, Chinese leaders are facing some perplexing challenges as experts point to the nation’s shrinking glaciers (by 15 percent in the 30 years, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences) in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
In the wake of the news about developers now being permitted to tap into the plateau for water, ChinaFile commentators say the tangle China will have to unravel is how to reconcile that with the fact that the area is also home to the nation’s largest state park. It is also known as “the third pole” – a reference to it holding the largest store of fresh water in the world beside the north and south poles.
China: Short Supply of Water Sources
The China bottled water puzzle may continue to broaden, especially as analysts examine the numbers. Despite its “third pole,” China still only holds 7 percent of the world’s fresh water supplies but one fifth of its population, according to The Economist, a London weekly newspaper that reports on global finances.
The economic forecast produces a kind of dichotic view: Bottled water consumption continues to rise rapidly as Chinese leaders wrestle with managing the public’s environmental and water-quality concerns. Compound those facets with dwindling prospects of finding adequate supplies of water. Euromonitor International, a global provider of market research, estimates China’s bottled water consumption has more than doubled in the last five years.
In short, the Chinese people want clean water, more water and want natural resources protected. That thirst for pure water won’t go unabated, economists say. China overtook the United States by quantity of bottled water consumption in 2013, according to Canadean, an international market research company.
We at Azure Water monitor economic trends in the bottled water industry. That’s why we ensure our water undergoes such a rigorous purification. Azure Water’s facility uses state-of-the-art equipment that can produce 5,000 cases a day, including alkaline spring water and artesian mineral water. We can make custom-bottle shapes, and fill, seal and label your bottles. If you’re looking to expand your business or have questions about co-packing or our capabilities, contact us.
