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DUBLIN, Ireland, — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Research and Markets ( http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/d39312/consumer_electroni) has announced the addition of the “Consumer Electronics in China 2009: Market Analysis” report to their offering.

REPORT COVERAGE

This report reviews characteristics, trends and developments over the 2002 to 2008 period in the consumer electronics market (excluding computers and peripherals, and communications technology) and industry of the People’s Republic of China, and gives forecasts of market performance toಔ13. The emphasis is on the retail market and the major industry players.

Executive Summary:

The period covered by this report is one where China’s consumer electronics market reached what will perhaps be its nadir in terms of annual growth, between the years 2004 and 2006, when annual volume growth rates were above double-digit rates. Growth since then has weakened, and there are several good reasons for this.

Firstly, certain sectors of the market have matured to a point where they have reached a natural peak. TV penetration into the average urban household is now over 100%, which means that new sales growth is based upon technology upgrade, which relies upon industry innovation in new technology. Very little of this innovation comes from Chinese companies. What does come from China is legislation to force product and service improvements. The shift, for instance, to digital TV will force many consumers to either invest in a set-top box (STB) to sit with their existing TV, or buy a new TV. For many consumers who have only recently bought a large-screen analogue TV, the cheapest and least painful option is the STB.

The way Chinese consumers use their electronics products is also having an effect on growth patterns. MP3 players, until recently one of the fastest growing volume sectors, is now seeing decline. The reason is that many Chinese consumers are now buying combined mobile phone-cameras with built-in MP3 players. The industry’s own convergence is therefore responsible for creating consumer demand that is undermining growth in the consumer electronics industry’s own sectors.

However, such “traditional” sectors do continue to see market growth. Home entertainment systems, what used to be called Hi-Fi units, are seeing continued growth in rural areas, where even tape cassette sales are hanging on, despite the dominance of audio CDs. But CDs are in decline now, thanks to MP3 Internet and mobile phone downloads, and the widespread availability of pirate copies of popular music. A similar story has become apparent with DVD players and DVDs. Both are suffering from increased Internet bandwidths and wider availability of more downloadable video media from the internet.

What is clear from our current review of the market is that it is a market undergoing fundamental structural change, just as the domestic consumer market in China is shifting in its emphasis. Gone are the days of an export manufacturing or assembling-based economy and coming is the development of an economy based on domestic consumption. Current government planning and funding is based upon allowing low-value industries to die, and to promote higher value ones to thrive, whilst building up the rural economy through investment in modernization of the agricultural sector. Meanwhile, investment in new social security soft infrastructure, it is hoped, will help consumers to feel confident enough to save less and spend more.

We are therefore entering a period of emphasis shift in the way Chinese consumers and consumption will develop, while the consumer electronics market is morphing into something with significantly different product structures from what went before. This certainly makes doing any forecast predictions a lot more difficult, as the variables and unknowns are almost completely replacing the familiar predictable. What will be almost certainly true is that the rate that rural China comes on-line as a significant part of the consumer population will be crucial to the rate of growth in the consumer electronics sector in years to come. This will mean that, in order to drive new business growth, companies will have to move out of their comfort zones in the main urban centers of China, and will increasingly have to reach out into China’s rural hinterland to win rural consumer interest. This will mean retooling both products and marketing attitudes to suit a very different demographic from that which they have been used to.

Key Topics Covered:

INTRODUCTION 1 CHINA’S CONSUMER ELECTRONICS MARKET 2 MARKETING & DISTRIBUTION 3 SWOT ANALYSIS 4 COMPANY PROFILES 5 CONTACTS 6 RELEVANT EXHIBITIONS & TRADE FAIRS APPENDIX: MARKET BACKGROUND

Companies Mentioned:
BBK Electronics Corp. Beijing Newsmy Co. Canon Inc. Haier Group Corp. Hisense Group Co., Ltd. Hitachi Ltd. Konka Group Co., Ltd. LG Electronics Inc. Panasonic Corp. Royal Philips Electronics N.V. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Sichuan Changhong Electric Co., Ltd. Skyworth Digital Holdings Ltd. Sony Corp. SVA Group Co., Ltd. TCL Corp. Xiamen Overseas Chinese Electronic Co., Ltd. (Xoceco)
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/d39312/consumer_electroni.
SOURCE: Research and Markets

Research and Markets
Laura Wood
Senior Manager
press@researchandmarkets.com
Fax from USA: 646-607-1907
Fax from rest of the world: +353ǃ-481-1716

Copyright Business Wire 2009

BANGKOK – (Xinhua) — The Japanese government’s plan to export rice from its warehouses will depress rice market mechanisms and set global rice prices into volatile motion, a senior Thai commerce ministry official was quoted by media here as warning on Sunday.

Foreign Trade Department director-general Apiradi Tantraporn said Japan had now stored about 1.5 million tons of rice, which it purchased under the World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations, and had recently negotiated with the Philippines on selling about 200,000 tons of the stored rice, according to Thai News Agency.

Japan had imported the rice under the WTO for the country’s domestic consumption and not for re-export, said Apiradi.

Since 1995 Japan has imported rice at a level of 600,000-700,000 tons annually, mainly from Thailand and the United States, for its own use, she said.

The re-export of rice by Japan will go against objectives of WTO and will also further depress global rice prices, Apiradi said, adding that there were signs since the beginning of May that rice prices in the world had begun to stabilize, unlike the first four months of 2008. (continue reading…)

The rise in food prices is attributed largely to rising crude oil prices. However, the expansion of biofuel production as a result of higher crude prices has also fuelled speculation on food prices in the commodity markets. StarBizlooks at the complexities of the problem and how it has affected local consumption.

IS the proverbial third horseman of the apocalypse here? With riots and political instability due to higher prices of staple foods in the poorer parts of the world bringing to mind impending starvation, one will certainly think so.

Traditionally depicted as carrying scales and riding a black horse, the third horseman represented famine, drought and mass starvation in popular literature.

Yes, there have been droughts and following that, famine and mass starvation before. In recent times, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan come to mind. (continue reading…)

A structural transformation is taking place in the global grains market. The ongoing changes are expected to have far-reaching implication for the market in the coming years. How ready are grain sector stakeholders to meet the emerging market dynamics? The international seminar on ‘Wheat and Wheat products: Vision 2020’ that concluded a few weeks ago in Bangalore brought together a diverse group of participants, including Indian policymakers as also industry an d trade representatives from within the country and outside.

The meeting took note of the emerging issues of the wheat sector and possible responses to address the challenges. The effect of climate change was one of the key issues for scrutiny. Grain prices, in general, and wheat, in particular, have reached new highs in recent times. Across the world, there are howls of protest against rising food prices. Why are grain prices so high?
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Indian pepper futures, down in early trade on Tuesday tracking a weak jeera, pared some of their losses on fresh export demand and low arrivals, analysts said.

“The initial weakness was due to jeera…fundamentals have now improved as Indian prices are now ruling at Vietnam levels,” said Alimuhammed Lakdawala, an analyst with Anand Rathi Commodities.

In Vietnam, the world’s largest producer and exporter, prices were at about $3,500 per tonne, while in India prices have come down to $3,550 from $3,800, he said.

Arrivals have also come down as farmers are now holding back their stocks following a fall in prices in last few days, said Sonal Khatri, an analyst with Ventura Commodities Pvt Ltd.
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By Raja M

MUMBAI – India’s commodity exchange markets, where trading volume has ballooned 50-fold in barely five years, could shrug off a recent drop in business and almost double in size within the next two years, according to a report.

The market, which has grown to US$858 billion in 2007 from $16.9 billion in 2002, could expand to $1.8 trillion by 2010, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India and market researcher Evalueserve say in the January 20 report. Commodity exchanges let traders take direct possession of commodities or exchange contracts for future delivery with related activities in derivatives similar to stock markets.

The country last week became the first in Asia to offer trading in carbon credits – an exchange of cash for costs saved from using environmentally-friendly practices and products. The innovation (continue reading…)