Weifang Issues First Municipal-Level Pet Economy Quality Development Framework — RMB 10B by 2028

Overview

The Weifang Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, jointly with 16 other municipal departments including the Development and Reform Commission, Education Bureau, Science and Technology Bureau, Finance Bureau, and Weifang Customs, formally issued the (“Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Development of the Pet Economy”) on June 15, 2026, valid through December 31, 2028 — making it the first systematic municipal-level pet industry framework in Weifang and a north-China template policy document.

Key Facts

The Opinion sets a quantified industrial-output target: by 2028, cultivate 2 or more above-scale pet industry enterprises each with annual revenue above RMB 1 billion and 10 or more enterprises each with annual revenue above RMB 100 million, while pushing the total municipal pet economy industrial scale past RMB 10 billion (~USD 1.4 billion). It positions Weifang as a new highland for north-China pet economy development alongside a “pet-friendly city” designation. Execution runs through six development pathways: adjusting structure (multi-point regional cluster layout across Kuiwen, Zhucheng, Gaomi, Changle, Xiashan, and High-Tech Zone); strengthening intelligent manufacturing (pet food and veterinary drug production line upgrades plus entry into the “AI + pet” smart products segment); optimizing services (cultivation of 30 or more five-star veterinary clinical institutions plus standardization of boarding, grooming, and training industries with enforcement against “week-pets” and irregular exotic pet trading); expanding markets (live and social e-commerce development plus bonded-area “warehousing + global distribution” plus international show attendance such as Pet Fair Asia); building brands (supporting OEM-to-OBM transition plus regional public brand “”); and promoting integration (pet-friendly public spaces plus integration with silver economy and tourism economy, including the “” IP and “people-pets travel together” cultural tourism routes). The 2026 China (Weifang) Pet Industry Supply Chain Sourcing Conference is scheduled for October 2026 at Jinbao International Exhibition Center as the first major execution test.

Banking infrastructure was already operational at the time of publication: (Weifang Bank) had set up dedicated pet industry service branches and a “supervisor + association + park + bank + enterprise” five-party co-building model. By end-June 2026, approximately 20 pet industry enterprises had been granted around RMB 40 million (~USD 5.6 million) in cumulative credit lines, supported by a layered “technical flow + data flow + qualification flow” credit-enhancement system that replaces real estate collateral — including a notable practice of incorporating mainstream platform review scores and POS cash flow (“soft information”) into credit assessments for offline pet stores. The city also reports an industry baseline of approximately 30,000 pet-related enterprises, 172 licensed veterinary clinical institutions, 400 practicing veterinarians, 31 certified pet feed producers, 5 pet drug producers, 9,600 pet surgeries performed in 2025, and one Beijing-Stock-Exchange-listed pet food firm ( / Lushi Petfood, RMB 861 million 2025 revenue).

Market Implications

For pet manufacturers, brands, supply chain companies, and investors evaluating Chinese regional pet industry exposure, the Weifang framework matters as a template: 17 departments, six pathways, a three-year quantified roadmap, dedicated banking support, plus park infrastructure (Anqiu Zhongchong Hui Industrial Park, Kuiwen Pet Eco-Industrial Park). The headline RMB 10 billion target is modest against China’s RMB 312.6 billion national 2025 pet consumer market, but the structural signal is that secondary Chinese cities are designating pet economy as a pillar industry in the same way they have historically designated automotive parts or electronics. The October 2026 Weifang sourcing conference will be the first major execution test of the policy — and an immediate opportunity for national-level pet brands to engage north-China distribution channels.