‘Little desire to have kids’: More young Chinese choosing pets over children

SHANGHAI: China’s pet market is showing promising growth supported by demographic changes and attitude shifts towards having children, even as the country’s economy slows. 
China’s pet population will be nearly twice that of its young children by 2030, as young Chinese remain unwilling to start new families, according to investment bank Goldman Sachs in a research note published earlier this month.
Its urban pet population is set to hit over 70 million by the end of the decade, while the number of children under the age of four will fall to less than 40 million. 
The trend was observed at Pet Fair Asia, a five-day trade show in Shanghai which concluded on Sunday (Aug 25). 
The event, where fur kids were the stars and the focus was on meeting their needs, was touted by organisers as the largest expo of its kind in the Asia Pacific. 
“A lot of indicators are saying that the industry itself is growing at 8 to 15 per cent,” said Mr Edwin Tan, CEO of events management firm Globus Events, the organiser of Pet Fair Asia. 
“Our show itself is growing about 10 to 12 per cent this year, and more importantly, if you look around us, a lot of our exhibitors have increased their investment in the show. They have also come up with … a lot of new products.”
Exhibitors took up all 17 permanent halls of the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, and even spilled into seven semi-permanent halls. Organisers also resorted to providing buggies to ferry visitors from hall to hall.
“I’m here to source for pet products, mainly cat litter and organic cat food for my clients in Southeast Asia,” said Mr Paul Liu, sales director at pet supplies firm Floofs & Fluff. 
“Because in China, there are many factories and they are able to source excellent-quality raw materials at a relatively much cheaper cost,” he added.
A shift in attitudes towards pets and demographic changes in China’s pet population is driving the emergence of this new sub-sector.
“The late 2000s, the early 2010s is when the population of pets in China really began to increase. (It) almost skyrocketed,” said Dr Angie Schultz, a vet at Heal Petcare Wellness and Rehabilitation Medical Center. 
“Now, many of those pets are what we would consider ‘senior citizens’, and so the service lines are developing to provide for senior pets,” added Dr Schultz, who works at one such facility providing these services for senior pets. 
Mr Joey Yeo, co-founder and CEO of animal care service provider Heal Management Group, said there has been “a huge increase in pet ownership” over the years.
“We’re looking at double-digit growth and if I break it down into dogs and cats’ ownership, we’re seeing a year-on-year growth of 4 per cent for dog ownership, (and) close to 20 per cent for cat ownership,” he added. 
More young couples without kids and young professional singles are becoming pet owners, he noted.
“We’re talking about between 40 and 50 million pets. (There is) a lot of potential in terms of opportunity for the pet industry.”
Ms Liu Yinghui and her husband are a typical profile of a growing segment of pet owners in China.
The couple were married three years ago. Previously dog lovers, they now dote on a pair of cats and have no intention of having children. 
For years, China’s fertility rate has hovered around 1 birth per woman, a far cry from the 2.1 births needed to keep the population stable. In cities like Shanghai, the fertility rate is even lower, hovering around 0.6 births per woman.
“Our generation has little desire to have kids. And pets do provide companionship and fulfil part of the functions that kids perform,” said Ms Liu. 
“Rearing a cat is almost like raising a child. You will see things you want to buy for them and forget the prices. So long as it’s good for them, I will buy it.”