China is to reduce tariffs on consumer goods, including food and infant formula, the country’s Ministry of Finance has announced.

Effective from 1 December, the average import tax on products including some food, items, will drop to 7.7% from 17.3%, the Ministry said in a statement today (24 November)

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

Some types of baby milk powder – a market in which the likes of Nestle and Danone compete with local firms – will have zero tariffs, while seafood will also see a tariff rate reduction.

A total of 187 products will be covered across a range of consumer goods categories.

The move, which is intended to meet increasing domestic demand and boost consumption, is a continuation of a policy which has seen tariffs on nearly 300 items of everyday use go down during the past two years.

China has faced criticism – not least from US President Donald Trump – for not doing enough to give businesses exporting goods there a fair chance of competing with local businesses.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Alain Oberhuber, a partner and analyst at Switzerland’s MainFirst Bank, said the tariff cuts could benefit a number of FMCG companies.

“The companies we assume [this] will have the most significant positive impact on earnings will be the baby food and bottled water producers, as most of the premium products are produced in Europe,” he said.

“We mainly see four companies which will benefit most, L’Oréal, due to its absolute size there, Danone, due to its infant formula exposure, Hochdorf,  all in premium infant formula, and Nestle due to its infant formula and water exposure.”