There are 62 countries in Asia and Oceania and 14 of them have pet dogs that require anywhere from US$300 to US$900 a year for food.
This is one of the key findings from a recent market study by CashNetUSA, an online lender that recently ranked countries based on the cost of feeding a medium-sized (40lbs) dog 540 grams of dry dog food each day for a year. The survey based the cost of yearly dog food consumption on the price of the cheapest dry dog food from local supermarkets (using US dollars exchange rates on October 2023).
The 14 Asia and Oceania countries and their corresponding annual dog food expenses are:
Japan ($2,056.88)
Australia ($955.09)
Sri Lanka ($913.23)
Singapore ($838.33)
Thailand ($817.31)
Fiji ($791.79)
New Zealand ($785.25)
Pakistan ($612.32)
South Korea ($498.27)
Brunei ($490.78)
Taiwan ($419.82)
Malaysia ($403.44)
Philippines ($340.59)
Vietnam ($307)
The study, however, made no mention of dog food consumption in China and India. It also listed other countries, labeled as part of Asia by the United Nations Development Program, under the Middle East and Central Asia.
Japan has the biggest annual budget for dog food not just in Asia but in the whole world as dog owners here generally prefer to buy super premium and gourmet dog food, regardless of the cost, the study showed. On average, a Japanese dog owner would spend $2,057 for one pet dog.
Currency rates vis-a-vis the cost of imported dog food can also substantially influence a country's pet food spending. Imported dog food is usually more expensive than locally produced kibbles and this could be one reason dog owners from Sri Lanka are spending more ($913.23) to feed their dogs for one year than their counterparts from richer countries like Singapore ($838.33) and South Korea ($498.27).
The study noted that a country's distance from major pet food exporting countries could also affect dog food retail prices and this is true for countries in Oceania, particularly Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, freight costs of dog food could cost three times higher because of its long distance from major suppliers from Thailand and the US, for example.
While the report didn't include China and India, it offered dog food consumption figures from neighboring Pakistan ($612.32) and Taiwan ($419.82).
Meanwhile, the CashNetUSA study found the Philippines, which has the highest dog population in East Asia and ranks seventh in the world, to have the second smallest yearly budget for dog food at $340.59 in the region. There are more than 17 million dogs in the Philippines, a number that could reach up to 21.1 million in 2026.
Vietnam is the country with the lowest budget for dog food at just $307, the study showed.
