(Yicai Global) March 17 -- China, the world's largest home appliance manufacturer, is likely to see a short-term slowdown in overseas orders for its washing machines and refrigerators this year amid the global coronavirus pandemic, according to an industry research firm. But demand for smart, health devices is expected to jump.

China, which accounts for 12.6 percent of worldwide washing machine sales, will see that market dip by between 3 percent and 5 percent this year, Beijing Zhixindao Sci-Tech, which runs the website ChinaIOL, said in a recent report.

Global refrigerator and freezer sales will slow to 2.7 percent growth to 187 million units from a year earlier, ChinaIOL said. The country accounts for 54.5 percent of the world's production and 29.7 percent of its sales.

However, most markets are expected to maintain an upward trend as the impact of the epidemic should not be long-term, the Beijing-based platform said. This year, China is expected to ship 61 million gas stoves, six million dishwashers and 27 million kitchen extractor fans to both domestic and overseas markets.

The epidemic has strengthened demand for health products, Zhou Nan, secretary general of the home appliance division of the China Chamber of Commerce for the Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, told Yicai Global.

Energy saving, health-related, purification, sterilization, intelligent and large capacity devices are the long-term trends, he added. Domestic demand for such devices has spiked. The European market for smart home appliances is expected to reach 80.6 million households by 2021, ChinaIOL said.

Chinese white goods makers need to adjust their business structures to be able to meet export targets for the second half of the year, said Yang Songrui, director of ChinaIOL's online home appliances business department. They should switch to online business and use digital marketing. They may need to alter their production lines to make other more popular goods during the outbreak. They should also speed up construction of smart factories and draw from upstream and downstream support networks closest to them, Yang said.

Home appliances will always be a necessity and the pandemic will not affect markets long-term, Wang Jianguo, vice president of electrical appliance giant Midea, told Yicai Global. But the polarization of demand is likely to be more serious. Demand for low-end products will increase while mid-level demand will drop. High-end demand should remain the same, he added.

Editor: Kim Taylor