The Pleasure Boat Market of

China
Juliet Lu
April 2009

The Pleasure Boat Market of China

Summary:

With the rapid growth of the economy, China's recreational marine market is forecast
to expand sharply in the coming years. In 2008, China imported over 50 million US
dollars worth of yachts and pleasure vessels, which was an increase of 72.6%
compared with 2007. (China Customs) Based on the confidence that pleasure boats
will become a part of life style in the country’s expanding wealthy and the middle-
class, provincial governments, property developers and boat builders are all
investing heavily in this industry. Business experts estimate that the market will pick
up speed in the next few years, and the overall market size will reach US$10billion
over the next decade, which presents significant opportunities for the exports of U.S.
pleasure boats, accessories, marina planning and construction materials.

Tariff Rate:
Compared with the import duty rate of luxury cars (MFN rate: 34.2%-37.6%), the tariff
for pleasure boat is relatively low with fewer trade barriers. According to the Protocol on
the Accession of the People’s Republic of China, the non-tariff measures of importing
boats and vessels was eliminated in 2004.

HS Description of Products Final Bound rate (2002)

8903.9100 Sailboats with or without auxiliary motor 8%
8903.1000 Inflatable, other 10%
8903.9200 Motorboats, other than outboard 10.5%
motorboats
8903.9900 Other 10%
* VAT (value Added Tax) = 17%

Original: Protocol on the Accession of the People’s Republic of China, WTO Agreement
(Annex 8: Schedule CLII - People’s Republic of China)

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 Boat Import and Export :

In 2008, China imported 1906 yachts and pleasure vessels with a value of 51 million US
dollars from 22 countries and regions. China exported over 220 million US dollars yacht
and pleasure vessels to 103 countries and regions in 2008, with increase of 39 percent
compared with the previous year. The main exporting market for China includes U.S.,
U.K., Hong Kong, Australia, Japan and E.U. The major boat exporters in China were
foreign-owned enterprises, which accounted for nearly 60 percent of the total export and
the main trade mode was export processing.

China Imports from the World (Value and Volume)

HS 8903: Yachts & Other Vessels for Pleasure or Sports; Rowing Boats and Canoes

6000
5091.7718
5000

4000
2950.017
Value(10,000USD)
3000
1988 1906 Volume
2000 1192.6007
1070
1000

0
2006 2007 2008

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 China Exports to World (Value and Volume)
HS 8903: Yachts & Other Vessels for Pleasure or Sports; Rowing Boats and Canoes

2500000 2,209,502
2,163,693
2000000
1,589,264
1500000
1,057,426 Value(100USD)

1000000 852,649 Volume

500000
177,130

0
2006 2007 2008

(Sourcing: Global Trade Atlas)

Market share by country:

The United States is one of the market leaders here with over 24% of the market share
in 2008. The import value from U.S. was over 12 million US dollars last year, which is
an increase of 55 percent compared with 2007. European companies aggressively
entered the Chinese market and their market share has been increased rapidly in the
last two years. Italy ranked the first in the sale value for the first time in 2008 although
the quantity is still quite low which mainly because of the strong sales of the most
luxury motor boats made in Italy , such as Azimut-Benetti, Ferretti and InRizzardi. U.K.
and France took the third and fifth place and the import value was 5.29 million US
dollars and 2.67million US dollars.

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 China Imports from the world by value 2008
HS 8903: Yachts & Other Vessels for Pleasure or Sports; Rowing Boats and Canoes

1.36 1.03
Italy
4.53 2.2 1.1
4.58 United States
5.24 United Kingdom
35.66
7.52 Hong Kong
France
10.38
Netherlands

24.01 Taiwan
Germany
Japan
Canada

(Sourcing: Global Trade Atlas)

China Imports from the world by volume 2006- 2008

HS 8903: Yachts & Other Vessels for Pleasure or Sports; Rowing Boats and Canoes

1000
872
900
800
700
600 491
532
500
358
400 2008
300 223
2007
200
58 76107 60 83 85
100 22 16 26 25 50 22 6 0 25 23 7 7 5 10 0 16 21 36 48 2006
0

(Sourcing: Global Trade Atlas)

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 China Imports from U.S. (2006-2008)

2006  2007  2008 

HS Code  Description 
USD  Volume USD  Volume USD  Volume
Yacht & 
Other  
Pleasure 
8903  Vessels  4,197,950 358 7,867,433 491 12,227,074  872
890399  Other   3,491,027 323 6,264,313 356 11,319,094  828
Motorboats, 
other than 
outboard 
890392  motorboats  570,408 6 1,316,172 11 768,570  15
890391  Sailboats  89,653 10 141,354 17 134,815  12
Inflatable, 
890310  other  46,862 19 145,594 107 4,595  17

(Sourcing: China Customs)

Yacht Manufacturing:

The Yacht building industry is becoming an important part of China’s Shipbuilding

industry. At present, China has over 300 FRP boat builders, which are mainly scattered
in coastal areas such as Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta. More than 60% of
the yachts built in China are exported. Limited by the deficiency of qualified designer
and accessories supply chain, domestic pleasure boats manufacturers are mainly
engaged in processing and assembling the imported materials and equipment.
Currently, most accessories and equipment such as engines, generating sets, steering
systems, communication and navigation facilities rely on imports. Considering the huge
market potential, China has put a lot of emphasis on the development of the
recreational marine industry. CSSC, China’s leading shipbuilding group plans to
construct China’s largest yacht-building base in Shanghai. The first phase will cover an
area of one square Kilometer in the south of Fengxian District in Shanghai.

However, as an emerging industry, Chinese yacht builders still face a lot of challenges
and deficiencies including small manufacturing scale, lack of specialized engineers and
related equipment, weak management, unprofessional sales network, insufficiency of
laws and regulations.

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 Based on the inquires from Chinese firms that are interested in marina related products
from the U.S., we believe that the China recreational marine market holds promising
market potential for U.S. manufacturers of pleasure boats, parts and accessories,
marina planning and construction materials.

Marina Development Plan

Although there are presently only a handful of marinas in China, dozens more are
under construction or in planning. Many luxury residences in major cities incorporate
waterways and boating facilities in their developments.

The Shanghai municipal government is expected to announce plans for the city’s
yachting industry development over the next two decades. The success of
Shanghai's bid to host the 2010 World Expo will push the boat industry to develop
more rapidly. The Shanghai Government has decided to build marinas and cruising
shipping centers along the downtown river as part of the efforts to remake Shanghai
into a world-class city.

Other marina related development plan in Shanghai area include:

-Dianshan Lake, connecting Shanghai and Jiangsu Province, is one of the popular
places for the development of yacht club and other aquatic entertainment facilities.
-The ambitious New Harbour City development is creating a man-made lake, named
“Water drop”, facilities will include a yacht club, in accordance with city planing.
-The Fengxian district: located in the South of Shanghai, neighboring Hangzhou Bay,
which has unique geographical and natural features for boating and yacht industry. The
U.S. based Long Runn Investment Group has cooperated with the Fengxian district
government to develop China’s first marina-based community-Shanghai Marina City-
covering 650 acres at the convergence of Huangpu river and Punna Canal.

Other cities and areas that either have on-going marina projects, or are in the
planning process include Zhoushan, Qingdao ,Dalian, Ningbo, Beihai, Dongguan,
Shengzhen and Hainan Island.

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 China Int’l Boat Show 2009

The China (Shanghai) International Boat Show (CIBS) – the largest boat show in China
hosts its 14th edition this April in Shanghai, the exhibition covers over 30,000 m2 with
up to 380 exhibitors and over 100 boats on display in the downtown historical venue,
the Shanghai Exhibition Center. With a comprehensive display of China's boat industry
chain, CIBS offers several exhibition halls featuring thousands of products covering
equipment, technology, supplies and service.

On behalf of the U.S. Commercial Service we would like to welcome you to the China
(Shanghai) International Boat Show 2009. Our mission in Shanghai is to assist U.S.
firms doing business in China. We will staff an information booth in the Central Hall
(C073) to provide assistance to American companies and Chinese clients at the show.
We plan to make ourselves available to answers questions, offer advice and support
your networking activities throughout the event.

(86-21) 6279-7630
(86-21) 6279-7639
Email: Juliet.Lu@mail.doc.gov
http://www.buyusa.gov/china/en

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