Lianyungang Launches Three-Year Pet Economy Action Plan Targeting RMB 7 Billion Industry by 2028
Executive Summary: The city of Lianyungang in Jiangsu Province, China, has issued its first systematic pet economy policy document, the Three-Year Action Plan for High-Quality Pet Economy Development (2026-2028), targeting an industry scale of RMB 7 billion by 2028. The plan deploys 15 specific tasks across five pillars: industrial upgrading, e-commerce enablement, new business formats, pet-friendly environment construction, and industry regulation. The policy follows national data showing China’s pet consumption market projected to reach RMB 336.5 billion in 2026, with the Yangtze River Delta contributing 21 percent of national pet food capacity.
Key Facts
- City
- Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China
- Industry
- Pet economy (food, services, accessories, policy)
- Category
- Government policy / industrial planning
- Event
- Three-Year Action Plan for pet economy (2026-2028)
- Date
- 2026-09-04 (published)
- Location
- Lianyungang, Jiangsu, China
- Source
- Lianyungang Municipal Government
What Happened
The Lianyungang Municipal Government formally issued the Three-Year Action Plan for High-Quality Pet Economy Development (2026-2028) on September 4, 2026. The plan sets a target of RMB 7 billion in total pet economy industry scale by 2028, with at least 10 pet industry parks and specialized production bases. The city’s current pet economy stands at RMB 2 billion as of 2025, with 2 pet food production enterprises, 23 single-feed enterprises, and pet food sales exceeding RMB 600 million.
The policy deploys 15 specific tasks across five strategic areas: promoting pet industry upgrading, driving e-commerce enablement, innovating new business formats, strengthening pet-friendly environment construction, and enhancing industry regulation. Each of the city’s five counties receives a differentiated industrial focus: Donghai County for pet food and supplies industrial parks, Guanyun County for pet fashion products, Guannan County for smart warehousing and distribution, Ganyu District for high-end pet food raw materials, and Haizhou District for pet raw materials and digital pet industry parks.
Background
Lianyungang is a prefecture-level city in northern Jiangsu Province with a population of approximately 4.5 million. While not traditionally associated with China’s pet industry centers like Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Hangzhou, the city has built a foundation in pet food manufacturing with 23 single-feed enterprises. Its coastal location provides access to marine ingredients including salmon and Antarctic krill, which the plan specifically identifies as raw material advantages for developing oceanic-flavored pet food products.
The policy emerges against a national backdrop of rapid pet industry growth. The Asia Pet Academy’s 2026 China Pet Industry Blue Book projects the domestic pet consumption market to reach RMB 336.5 billion in 2026, with dogs and cats totaling 189 million. iiMedia Research data shows China’s pet economy industry scale reached RMB 811.4 billion in 2025, with potential to exceed RMB 1.15 trillion by 2028. The Yangtze River Delta region, where Lianyungang is located, contributes approximately 21 percent of national pet food capacity.
Industry Context
Lianyungang’s action plan is the latest in a series of local government pet economy initiatives across China. In July 2026, Jiangxi Province issued 12 consumption-boosting measures explicitly mentioning pet consumption as a new growth area. Zhejiang Pingyang, Anhui Suzhou, Shenzhen, and Shanghai have all introduced pet industry-specific policies. The national policy environment has been moving toward recognizing pet economy as a legitimate industrial category, though the seven-ministry commercial consumption policy issued in August 2026 did not explicitly include pet economy as a standalone category.
The Lianyungang plan stands out for its specificity. Rather than a vague declaration of support, it assigns differentiated roles to each county, identifies specific product categories to develop (fresh food, breeding formula, freeze-dried, exotic pet food), and sets quantitative targets (RMB 7 billion, 10+ parks). The plan also emphasizes the construction of pet-friendly city infrastructure, including dog parks, pet-friendly public spaces, and pet carnival events.
Simultaneously, the pet industry is generating significant employment. According to Zhaopin’s Q2 2026 talent market report, pet service industry job postings grew 43.2 percent year-on-year, ranking first across all industries at five times the overall market growth rate. The Shuyu District of Suqian, also in Jiangsu, has been featured as a China Pet-Friendly Demon City, with its Yihe pet products company reporting RMB 680 million in 2025 revenue and exports to 60-plus countries.
Market & Business Impact
The Lianyungang plan signals that Chinese local governments are moving from passive observation to active industrial policy in the pet economy. For pet food manufacturers, the creation of dedicated industrial parks with differentiated county-level focus creates opportunities for supply chain clustering and local government incentives including tax holidays, land allocation, and infrastructure support.
The emphasis on marine-based pet food ingredients (salmon, Antarctic krill) leverages the city’s coastal geography and could create a regional specialty category. The plan’s focus on freeze-dried and fresh food aligns with the premiumization trend in Chinese pet food, where consumers increasingly seek minimally processed, human-grade nutrition. For e-commerce and cross-border trade companies, the smart warehousing and distribution focus in Guannan County offers logistics infrastructure for both domestic and export channels.
The target of RMB 7 billion by 2028, up from RMB 2 billion in 2025, implies a tripling of the local pet economy in three years, requiring approximately 52 percent CAGR. This is ambitious but not unprecedented given the national pet economy’s growth trajectory and the low base.
Companies & Brands Involved
The plan involves local government entities including the Lianyungang Municipal Government and five county-level administrations. No specific private companies are named in the policy document, but the region’s existing 2 pet food production enterprises and 23 single-feed enterprises are positioned as the industrial base. The Asia Pet Academy (publisher of the Pet Industry Blue Book) and iiMedia Research are cited as data sources. The Shuyu District model (Yihe pet products company) is referenced as a regional benchmark.
Data & Evidence
- 2028 target: RMB 7 billion pet economy industry scale (from RMB 2B in 2025, implying ~52% CAGR)
- Target: 10+ pet industry parks and specialized production bases
- Current base: 2 pet food production enterprises, 23 single-feed enterprises
- Current pet food sales: RMB 600+ million
- National context: China pet consumption market projected at RMB 336.5B in 2026 (Asia Pet Academy)
- National pet economy: RMB 811.4B in 2025, potentially RMB 1.15T by 2028 (iiMedia Research)
- Yangtze River Delta: 21% of national pet food capacity
- Pet service jobs: 43.2% YoY growth, #1 across all industries (Zhaopin Q2 2026)
- Source: Lianyungang Municipal Government, September 4, 2026
What This Means for the Pet Industry
When a Chinese prefecture-level city publishes a three-year pet economy plan with quantitative targets and county-level specialization, the signal is clear: pet industry has graduated from consumer trend to government-sanctioned industrial category. Lianyungang’s plan is not an isolated gesture. Jiangxi, Anhui Suzhou, Shuyu District, and others have made similar moves. For manufacturers, distributors, and investors, the implication is that municipal-level competition for pet industry investment will intensify, with local governments offering land, tax incentives, and infrastructure to attract pet food and pet product companies. The differentiation by county (food in Donghai, fashion products in Guanyun, logistics in Guannan) shows that even at the city level, pet industry policy is becoming granular and specialized.
Key Takeaways
- Lianyungang issued a three-year pet economy action plan targeting RMB 7 billion industry scale by 2028, up from RMB 2 billion in 2025, requiring approximately 52 percent CAGR.
- The plan assigns differentiated industrial roles to five counties: pet food in Donghai, fashion products in Guanyun, smart logistics in Guannan, raw materials in Ganyu, and digital pet industry in Haizhou.
- The policy emphasizes marine-based pet food ingredients (salmon, Antarctic krill), freeze-dried, fresh food, and exotic pet food, leveraging the city’s coastal geography.
- National context: China’s pet consumption market is projected at RMB 336.5 billion in 2026, with the Yangtze River Delta contributing 21 percent of pet food capacity.
- Pet service industry job postings grew 43.2 percent year-on-year in Q2 2026, ranking first across all Chinese industries at five times the market growth rate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened?
Lianyungang city in Jiangsu Province issued a three-year pet economy action plan on September 4, 2026, targeting RMB 7 billion in pet industry scale by 2028 with 15 specific tasks across five strategic areas.
Which city is involved?
Lianyungang, a prefecture-level city in northern Jiangsu Province, China, with a population of approximately 4.5 million and a current pet economy of RMB 2 billion.
Where is the plan focused?
The plan assigns differentiated industrial roles to five counties within Lianyungang: Donghai for pet food, Guanyun for fashion products, Guannan for smart logistics, Ganyu for raw materials, and Haizhou for digital pet industry parks.
Why is this important for the pet industry?
It signals that Chinese local governments are moving from passive observation to active industrial policy in the pet economy, creating municipal-level competition for pet industry investment with land, tax incentives, and infrastructure.
What pet industry segment is affected?
Pet food manufacturing (especially marine-based and freeze-dried), pet accessories, pet services, and pet-friendly city infrastructure are all affected by the plan’s differentiated county-level strategy.
Sources
- Primary — Lianyungang Municipal Government, https://www.lyg.gov.cn/zlygzfmhwz/gcyw/content/b2b5a8fe-afce-43e9-8e7a-6cf6ea79c608.html, September 4, 2026
- Secondary — Asia Pet Academy, 2026 China Pet Industry Blue Book (RMB 336.5B projection)
- Secondary — iiMedia Research (RMB 811.4B industry scale, 2025)
- Secondary — Zhaopin Q2 2026 Talent Market Report (43.2% job growth)
