Nestle’s Water Sales in China Increased 27% in 2012
Research from the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Ministry of Environmental Protection has shown that 320 million rural people in China still do not have access to safe drinking water, with 190 million using drinking water that contains excessive levels of hazardous substances.
In Beijing, while officials insist upon the safety of the water supply, residents are skeptical and for this reason bottled water sales are reaching record highs.
In 2001, bottled water sales totaled $1 billion in China; in 2012, the total was $9 billion; and, in 2013 one research group predicts that bottled water sales will jump to $16 billion.
Bottled water giant Nestle seems to be the main benefactor of China’s water problems. China is Nestle’s eighth largest market worldwide, and Nestle’s water business in China increased by 27 percent in 2012.
