As the core equipment of intelligent sorting, the color sorter has broad prospects in the future driven by multiple factors such as technological iteration, market demand, and policy support. It presents significant trends such as continuous expansion of market scale, upgrading of technology to high-end intelligence, continuous expansion of application scenarios, and accelerated globalization layout. The specific details are as follows:
1, Market size: Continuous growth, with mid to high end products becoming the core driving force
From the perspective of market size, the growth trend of the color sorting machine industry is stable. In 2024, the overall scale of China's color sorting machine industry reached 3.86 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.2%. It is expected to reach 4.21 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 9.1%. If we focus on the sub field of intelligent digital optoelectronic color sorting machines, the growth potential is even more prominent. It is expected that the market size will reach 7.86 billion yuan in 2025 and is expected to climb to 12 billion yuan in 2030, with an average annual compound growth rate of 16.5%.
In terms of product structure, the proportion of mid to high end products continues to increase. The market size of mid to high end color sorting machines is 2.24 billion yuan in 2024, accounting for 58.1%. It is expected that the penetration rate will reach 60.5% by 2025. Due to high recognition accuracy and strong adaptability, the market share of multispectral color sorting machines has increased from a low level to 34.6% by 2024. Although intelligent color sorting machines (with networking, remote diagnosis and other functions) currently account for only 7.1%, they will grow rapidly in the future, and their combined market share is expected to exceed 40% by 2025.
In terms of regional distribution, traditional core regions such as East China and South China still dominate, with the East China market accounting for 32.5% in 2024. However, the growth rate in the central and western regions is significant, with a year-on-year increase of 12.7% in 2024 and an expected growth rate of over 10.4% in 2025. The market size is expected to exceed 1.05 billion yuan and become an important incremental market.
2, Technological development: upgrading towards intelligence, high precision, and greenness
Technological innovation is the core engine for the development of the color sorting machine industry, and in the future, breakthroughs will be made in the following directions:
Intelligent deep integration: AI visual recognition, deep learning algorithm and edge computing will be widely used, and the equipment will have stronger independent decision-making ability, such as optimizing the sorting model through massive data training to achieve self optimization of process parameters; At the same time, combined with the Internet of Things platform, remote monitoring, fault warning, and data tracing can be achieved. Some high-end models can now restore the production line 1:1 through digital twin technology, improving operation and maintenance efficiency.
Accuracy and adaptability improvement: Multispectral fusion technology will be further popularized, breaking through the limitations of traditional optical color sorting machines. It can not only recognize colors and shapes, but also achieve precise sorting by combining material composition differences. Some high-end models have a sorting accuracy of over 99.95%, and can adapt to more complex materials (such as small particles, irregular materials) and working conditions (such as high dust and extreme temperatures).
Green and low-carbon: Low power light source, recyclable material casing, intelligent start stop energy-saving mode and other environmentally friendly designs will become one of the core competitiveness of the product, in line with the "dual carbon" goal and circular economy policy requirements, and will also become an important evaluation indicator for enterprise procurement.
3, Application scenario: Expanding from traditional fields to emerging fields
The application boundaries of color sorting machines will continue to expand, penetrating from traditional grain and food industries to more industrial sectors
Deepening in traditional fields: Grain processing remains the largest application market, accounting for 53.1% in 2024. In the future, with the deepening of food security strategies and the demand for refined processing, it will develop towards higher precision grading and sorting (such as grading by ingredients and taste); In the food industry, the demand for sorting high-quality agricultural products such as tea and nuts has surged, driving a compound annual growth rate of 17.8% for related color sorting equipment.
The rise of emerging fields: Driven by the "dual carbon" policy and the demand for resource recycling, the market for ore and recycled plastic sorting equipment is growing rapidly. The market size is expected to exceed 1.24 billion yuan by 2025, an increase of 210% compared to 2020; Color selection equipment will gradually be popularized in fields such as traditional Chinese medicine sorting and aquatic processing, such as using near-infrared technology to screen the components of traditional Chinese medicine to ensure quality.
4, Policy and market demand: dual driving industry development
Strong policy support: National strategies such as "Intelligent Manufacturing 2025", "Dual Carbon Goals", and "Circular Economy" provide policy guarantees for the industry, and local governments also stimulate demand through subsidies and other means. For example, Anhui, Hubei, and other places provide a 15% -20% purchase subsidy for domestically produced color selection equipment, directly promoting a 34% increase in regional sales. In addition, the improvement of food safety standards and the deepening of food safety strategies have also forced downstream enterprises to upgrade their sorting equipment, indirectly driving the demand for color sorting machines.
Rigid release of downstream demand: The demand for high-precision and high-efficiency sorting equipment continues to grow in industries such as food processing, mineral sorting, and recycling of renewable resources. For example, the intelligent transformation of the recycling system for renewable resources is accelerating, and the recycling fields of plastics, metals, etc. require color sorting machines to achieve precise sorting; The upgrading of consumption has driven an increase in demand for high-quality agricultural products, and the procurement volume of color selection equipment in segmented fields such as tea and nuts has grown rapidly.
5, Global layout: huge potential for exporting domestic equipment
The competitiveness of Chinese color sorting machines in the international market is gradually increasing, with exports reaching 680 million yuan in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 11.4%. Emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Africa are the main export destinations, and the agricultural and food processing industries in these regions are developing rapidly, with a strong demand for cost-effective domestic equipment. In the future, with the deepening of the RCEP agreement and the acceleration of the industrialization process of countries along the "the Belt and Road", the export potential of domestic equipment will be further released. It is expected that the contribution rate of overseas market will increase from less than 10% to 25% in 2030. At the same time, some high-end products have begun to enter the European and American markets, which is expected to gradually break the monopoly of international brands in the high-end field.