Industries with the Largest Number of Businesses in China in 2020

1. Cotton Growing in China

Number of Businesses for 2020: 49,800,000

Revenue from the Cotton Growing industry in China is estimated to reach $14.3 billion in 2018, up 1.1% from 2017. Industry revenue has been falling at annualized 0.8% over the five years through 2018. These declines have largely been the result of competition from synthetic fiber manufacturers and imported cotton, and lower pricing levels.

China is the largest producer of cotton in the world, with a plant area of 3.4 million hectares as at 2016. China is also the largest global consumer market for cotton, as cotton is one of the main raw materials for many Chinese industries. China has about... Learn More

2. Legume Growing in China

Number of Businesses for 2020: 3,018,463

China is the largest legume-consuming country in the world. Legumes such as soy are the main input in commonly used domestic cooking oils and bean products. China is the fourth largest producer of legumes in the world, with 97.1 billion square meters of planting area in 2016. Revenue for the Legume Growing industry is expected to rise at an annualized 4.2% over the five years through 2018, to $16.1 billion. This includes anticipated growth of 3.0% in the current year.

As legumes are not high-yielding crops and large quantities of imports have lowered domestic legume prices, many farmers have reduced their... Learn More

3. Full-Service Restaurants in China

Number of Businesses for 2020: 2,494,000

Full-service restaurants in China account for the largest share of revenue of all the industries in China's catering subsector. Revenue for China's catering subsector totaled $545.0 billion in 2018, of which $495.4 billion was generated by the Full-Service Restaurants industry.

The Full-Service Restaurants industry's proportion of the total catering subsector has slightly decreased in recent years, due to the rapid growth of its main external competitor, the Fast-Food Restaurant industry in China (IBISWorld report 6720). Nevertheless, the Full-Service Restaurants industry has steadily grown over the past five years. Industry revenue is expected to increase at an annualized rate of 7.9% over... Learn More

4. Chinese Medicinal Herb Growing in China

Number of Businesses for 2020: 2,391,433

China is one of the largest growing and consuming countries of ginseng and pseudo-ginseng in the world. Rising prices and the growing popularity of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have driven increased supply and demand for industry products in recent years.

The Chinese Medicinal Herb Growing industry is expected to grow at an annualized 13.8% over the five years through 2018, to reach $28.64 billion. Over the period, the National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People's Republic of China was established to assist the industry by developing industry standards and optimizing the allocation of resources.

Traditional Chinese medicine, which uses Chinese... Learn More

5. Fast-Food Restaurants in China

Number of Businesses for 2020: 2,336,688

In recent years, lifestyle changes and reduced leisure time have contributed to a consumer shift from traditional full-service restaurants toward fast-food establishments. In addition, increased Western influences in China have boosted demand for fast food. Due to the rapid development of fast-food service providers, improvements in chain store and franchising management, and new brands and food styles, industry growth has been strong over the past decade.

ACMR-IBISWorld estimates that the Fast-Food Restaurants industry in China will generate $177.6 billion in 2019, up 7.9% from 2018. Over the five years through 2019, industry revenue is expected to grow at an annualized rate... Learn More

6. Tobacco Growing in China

Number of Businesses for 2020: 2,167,893

Tobacco is grown in over 125 countries on over 4.0 million hectares of land, a quarter of which is in China. The global tobacco crop is worth approximately $20 billion, a small fraction of the total amount generated from the sale of manufactured tobacco products around the world.

Tobacco is grown on less than 1% of the world's agricultural land and in a wide variety of soils and climates. Since the 1960s, the bulk of production has moved from the Americas to Africa and Asia. Land devoted to tobacco growing has been halved in the United States, Canada and Mexico, but... Learn More

7. Sheep and Cattle Farming in China

Number of Businesses for 2020: 1,790,342

Revenue for the Sheep and Cattle Farming industry in China is expected to increase at an annualized 3.2% over the five years through 2019, to $106.6 billion. This includes expected revenue growth of 2.6% in the current year. Domestic demand for beef and mutton in China is expected to increase at an annualized 3.1% over the five years through 2019, due to China's rising population and improved living standards. In addition, the prices of these meats have steadily increased over the past five years.

The industry's profit margins have declined over the past five years due to rising raw material and... Learn More

8. In-Home Care & Other Household Services in China

Number of Businesses for 2020: 699,500

The In-home Care & Other Household Services industry in China has developed strongly in recent years due to the improving income levels of Chinese residents, increasing number of new births and elders, accelerating pace of life, high labor force participation rate, etc. Industry revenue is expected to total $74.63 billion in 2018, up 16.5% from 2017, with an annualized growth rate of 17.2% during the past five years. Industry profit is not high, average 7.1% of industry revenue in 2018, mainly squeezed by the rising labor costs in China.

There are large number of small-size companies and self-employed practitioners in the... Learn More

9. Poultry Farming in China

Number of Businesses for 2020: 562,877

In the five years through 2019, revenue for the Poultry Farming industry in China is estimated to grow at an average annual rate of 5.6% to $119.3 billion. This steady growth is attributed to rises in poultry prices as well as output growth. Total poultry meat output is expected to increase 1.7% to 23.2 million tons in 2019, while revenue is set to grow 3.6%. For a typical poultry farm, returns are largely determined by the feed and poultry price spread.

Over the next five years, as the industry continues to mature, revenue growth is set to slow to an annualized... Learn More

10. Shoe Stores in China

Number of Businesses for 2020: 432,470

Strongly growing domestic demand for footwear from China's large population has supported the development of the Shoe Store industry in China over the past five years. In addition, rising income levels and the availability of a wider range of higher quality footwear products has boosted domestic sales for the industry. Shoe Store industry revenue is expected to increase at an annualized 8.4% over five years through 2019, to reach $52.4 billion.

Mainland China has been the largest global manufacturing base for footwear since the 1990s. Currently, China supplies over 65.0% of global footwear demand. Domestic manufacturers have gradually improved their manufacturing... Learn More