(Yicai Global) Feb. 16 -- The development of the pre-cooked meals sector has been included in China’s key annual government policy document, otherwise known as the No. 1 central document, for the first time, indicating that the sector will receive strong government backing going forward.

Ready-to-eat meals are now one of the top development priorities of the Chinese government, alongside agriculture and other key industries, according to the document released by the country’s cabinet on Feb. 13.

Pre-cooked meals have been surging in popularity in China in recent years, fueled to a large extent by the Covid-19 pandemic when dining out was discouraged. Citic Securities projects the sector could be worth around CNY1 trillion (USD145.8 billion) in 10 years’ time.

An increasing number of companies will tap into the pre-made foods sector in the next few years with more supportive policies, Liu Rui, a deputy researcher at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, told the Economic Daily.

Experienced producers of ready-to-eat meals will benefit, and so will operators of restaurant chains as they can set up central kitchens, as well as centralized procurement and delivery hubs, Liu said.

Local governments are also saying they will assist with nurturing talent in the sector. Last April, for instance, the Weifang government in eastern Shandong province said it will offer grants of up to CNY2 million (USD291,574.9) to each highly qualified worker at pre-cooked food companies.

The size of China’s ready meals market is expected to reach CNY419.6 billion (USD61.2 billion) last year, according to data from new economy analyst firm iResearch.

The growth in pre-cooked foods will slow down to a more reasonable level in the next few years, said Nie Ying, deputy secretary-general at the committee for green agriculture and food nutrition of China Green Food Association.

Information exchanges in this sector are not yet smooth, and there is a lag in response among links resulting in disconnection between these links, Nie said. The ready-made meals industrial chain spans a number of fields, lacks unified standards as well as a reasonable mechanism for the distribution of profits.

The key to the sustainable development of the pre-cooked meals sector is to set up a comprehensive, systematic and standardized system, Nie added.

Editors：Shi Yi, Kim Taylor