PEST analysis of the future Chinese vertical farming market: Environmental sustainability and energy savings

To provide people with an insight into market development in the Chinese vertical farming (VF) industry, this work has conducted a PEST analysis to identify the external market environment from political, economic, social and technological perspectives. VF is developing at a rapid speed with great market potential and opportunities. Environmental pollution and consumersx increased awareness of a healthy lifestyle drive Chinese people to seek "safety, healthier and clean" food more than anyone else in the world. The increasing gross domestic product enables more and more people to afford VF-produced products. The great market opportunities have attracted many domestic and international investors to join the market. Until 2020, there were more than 200 plant factories operating in China, and the number is increasing. Nevertheless, the development of vertical farms is in the initial stage in China, which can be summarized as follows: 1) the high investment and operational costs are the main barriers to profitability; 2) technology development still lags behind other VF-advanced countries, such as in the development of intelligent crop management equipment; 3) insufficient government support, as promoting a vertical farm market requires more efficient political and financial support from the Chinese government; and 4) consumer public awareness of VF is too low.