Sales of professional digital cameras will see an explosive growth in China this year although the financial crisis has reduced global demand for technology products, according to a top executive of Japanese digital camera maker Canon.

Tatsuo Yoshioka, vice-president of Canon China, said its sale of single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras in China is expected to increase 115 percent this year as Chinese consumers continue to evince keen interest in professional photography.

"The growth rate of China's digital market is slowing this year due to the global economic slowdown, but the demand for SLR would continue to see an explosive growth," he said.

Yoshioka said Canon's sales proportion of compact digital cameras and SLR around the world is about 10:1. "But in China, the ratio is 20:1, which means there is still huge market potential," he said.

Canon is the biggest player in the Chinese digital camera market, with a nearly 30 percent share, following by Sony, Samsung and Nikon, according to domestic research firm CCID Consulting.

The company has recorded nearly 30 percent growth in the country during the past few years, making China Canon's third largest market after the United States and Japan.

According to CCID Consulting, SLR shipments reached 752,000 in China last year, an increase of 52.2 percent over 2007. The research firm said the relatively high profit margin of SLR products and accessories such as lens has attracted many companies entering the field.

Yoshioka said Chinese users, are different from users in southern Asian countries and Europe, and prefer high-end products when purchasing digital cameras. "According to our survey, Chinese users don't have much interest in cheap cameras," he said, noting that Canon do not have any plans to reduce its pricing in China amid the market slowdown.

Impacted by the financial crisis, Canon's net profit fell by 37 percent last year. Shrinking profit margins, a stronger yen and plunging demand in mature markets have certainly not helped the world's largest camera maker.

Yoshioka said sales of Canon's digital cameras in China have grown one-fifth in the first half, and it was on track to achieve a 20 percent growth this year.

But he said the growth rate of compact digital cameras in the country would drop to 15 percent as consumers have delayed their purchasing plan amid the economic difficulties.

According to research firm GFK, digital camera shipments in China are predicted to decrease by 3 to 4 percent this year due to the ongoing economic downturn, a sharp contrast to the 13 percent growth seen last year, during which period digital camera shipments reached 110 million in the country.

GFK said the market may not see growth for a further two to three years as digital camera penetration in large Chinese cities, the major market engine in the country, is nearing saturation point after years of rapid growth.

Yoshioka said Canon plans to accelerate the expansion of its sales network to third- and fourth-tier Chinese cities, where digital camera penetration was lower and the market less impacted by the crisis.

"I'm confident the market will recover next year," Yoshioka said.

(China Daily June 30, 2009)