Modern canned food has a history of over 200 years. Although food production technology is advancing rapidly and various processed foods are dazzling, canned food, as a safe, hygienic, nutritious, and convenient food, has always been closely related to people's lives and plays an important role in scenarios such as aerospace, military supplies, disaster relief, exploration, tourism, and daily life.

The canned food industry is a traditional food industry in China, which has played an important role in supplying domestic demand, earning foreign exchange through exports, serving agriculture, rural areas, and farmers, meeting healthy consumption, and stabilizing and expanding employment for many years. The canned food industry is a typical industry and a powerful lever to enhance the added value of agricultural products. The production, procurement, and supply of raw materials in the canned food industry originate from rural areas. Developing the canned food industry is of great value in increasing the added value of agricultural products, increasing farmers' income, and achieving a virtuous cycle of rural economy.

Consolidating and expanding the international market is an important direction for China's canned food industry. Canned foods are an important component of the daily diet of many overseas consumers. In European and American countries, the per capita annual consumption of canned goods can reach 50-90 kilograms. During the epidemic, especially in 2020, the sales of canned meat, chickpeas, and tuna in the United States increased by 31.8%, 25.6%, and 24.9% year-on-year, respectively. The sales of canned vegetables in Germany increased by 80%, and the sales of canned fruits increased by 70%. The sudden outbreak of the epidemic has highlighted the emergency protection attributes of canned food, and canned food has won more favor, which is also an important opportunity for China's canned industry.

China is a major producer and exporter of canned goods in the world. In the more than 70 years of development, the contemporary canned food industry has grown from small-scale, multi variety, small batch, single machine and manual operation oriented canned food factories to specialized and mechanized canned food enterprises with various characteristics of large, medium, small, and basic implementation. However, there is still a considerable gap between the overall mechanization, automation, and intelligence level of China's canned food industry and the international advanced level. The construction of safe, high-quality, and stable raw material bases cannot meet the needs of production development, and there is a lack of strong brands in the international market. The industry's shortcomings urgently need to be filled.

Leading industrial transformation and upgrading through technological innovation, and promoting the industry towards a quality and efficiency oriented approach. The key to the sustainable and stable development of the industry lies in innovation. The automated production lines for canned fruits, represented by yellow peaches and citrus fruits, are becoming increasingly mature, with faster processing processes and continuously improving efficiency; The manufacturing technology of tinplate ultra-thin cans effectively saves the cost of can making materials, reduces resource and energy consumption; The successful development of a new type of coated iron material has filled the domestic gap and become the preferred choice for canned food packaging. Canned food enterprises have achieved certain results in achieving processing mechanization and automation, improving product competitiveness, but they still need to continue to make efforts.

Extending the industrial chain, enhancing the value chain, and improving the supply chain are the "golden keys" to improving industry quality and efficiency. Strengthen pre production analysis, policy consultation, and rule building for exporting bulk commodities, adhere to advocating for reasonable raw material prices, protect the interests of farmers, avoid price pressures that harm farmers, and maintain the bottom line of the industry. Stabilize export prices, determine production based on sales, ensure processing benefits, maintain profit margins, and promote complementary advantages, coordinated development, and mutual benefit among industry enterprises.

Deeply implement quality improvement actions and promote the canned food industry to increase variety, improve quality, and create brands. Guide various raw material producing areas to organically combine canned food brands with regional brands, promote compatibility and integration of canned food with geographical indications, environmental conditions, and resource advantages of each producing area, and achieve brand superposition effect. Promote the synchronous construction of canned food brands and agricultural brands, and jointly promote the improvement of agricultural quality and efficiency.

China's canned food industry needs to keep up with the times, constantly innovate, and strive to achieve the transformation from a canning producing country to a canning producing country, providing people with safer, more nutritious, delicious, and convenient canned food, and enriching consumer choices on the dining table.