(Yicai Global) Nov. 9 -- As the Chinese government takes action to encourage more outdoor activities, manufacturers of portable energy storage packs, which can be used to charge phones, drones, refrigerators and other devices, should benefit, The Paper reported today, citing industry insiders.

China’s outdoor sports industry is expected to be worth CNY3 trillion (USD144 billion) by 2025, and more outdoor fitness and leisure products need to be on offer, according to the Outdoor Sports Industry Development Plan issued by several government departments, including the General Administration of Sports.

Camping in particular was singled out in the plan. It is necessary to improve the supply of camping products, encourage public parks to provide camping services and urge camping sites to upgrade their supporting facilities, it said.

Low-power portable batteries are essential for camping, a camping enthusiast said. More people have been opting for camping trips in recent years as outbreaks of Covid-19 hamper travel.

As a result, demand for portable batteries has quadrupled each year for the past three years, the report said, citing the head of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding’s Tmall platform.

Global sales of portable batteries have surged 90-fold in the last five years, reaching 4.8 million units last year, according to a report by the China Industrial Association of Power Sources. The US is the biggest market with a 47.3 percent share of the market last year, followed by Japan at 29.6 percent.

And yet over 90 percent of these products are made in China. There are more than 20,000 portable battery makers in China, 53.7 percent of which were established in the last five years. Four of the top five companies in the industry are Chinese companies. And the US’ Goal Zero, which is the overseas brand with the biggest market share, relies on Chinese manufacturers.

Editor: Kim Taylor