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Recently, according to the New York Times, the first commercial "space burial" of mankind will set sail in the early morning of the 8th local time, and a total of 330 human ashes and DNA samples will be sent to space, including the founder of the classic series "Star Trek" and many former presidents of the United States. According to the report, the "space burial" project is operated by the Celestes company in Texas, USA, and plans to launch a rocket named "Vulcan Centaur" from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 2:18 a.m. on the 8th, and deliver the first batch of 62 titanium capsules 1/4 to 1/2 inches long to the moon.
However, the company's commercial "space burial" is currently expensive, with the highest charge for a "burial" in deep space orbit costing about $13,000. The company's customer service staff said that according to the different sizes of the star box, the company can provide three price ranges of 50,000 yuan, 150,000 yuan and 300,000 yuan. According to different prices, it can be filled with 10g, 30g, and 60g of deceased ashes. In addition, this is not the first time that humans have carried out "space burials".
With the continuous development of funeral services, "space burial" as an emerging funeral method has gradually attracted attention. Space burial is a form of funeral in which the ashes of a deceased person are sent into space orbit or the universe. This approach is seen as a respect for the deceased and a yearning for the universe, but it also raises controversies over morality, the environment, and safety. Although space burials are often featured in science fiction movies and novels, they still face many challenges in practical applications, including high costs, technical safety, laws and regulations, and other issues. Therefore, more discussion and regulation are needed for the legality and feasibility of space burial to ensure its reasonable development in funeral services.
——Analysis of the funeral service industry chain
The funeral industry is composed of four parts: funeral services, body disposal, cemetery services, and other product sales and services, of which cemetery services account for more than 50%.
Among them, the participation of private enterprises in the funeral service business is not high, and the money-making effect is weak. The disposition of human remains is currently only available to government agencies, and prices are strictly regulated. The funeral industry, which is dominated by cemetery service business, has a high degree of marketization, and through independent pricing operation, the industry has a high level of profit and active capital participation
With the rise of emerging consumer demand, some emerging services have begun to rise, and the industrial chain categories have expanded vertically and horizontally, making the industry move from one-time consumption to multiple consumption.
- Statistics on the number of deaths
According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, from 2013 to 2019, except for a slight decline in 2015, the number of deaths in mainland China maintained a steady growth trend. In 2019, the death toll on the mainland reached 9.98 million. Under the influence of the outbreak of the new crown epidemic and the increase in the aging population, the forward estimate is that the number of deaths in the mainland in 2020 will be about 10 million.
——The industry has broad prospects
According to the calculation of cemetery units and funeral service agencies - Fushouyuan Company's cemetery sales services and funeral service revenue in more than 30 cities across the country, the average funeral expenses (including cemeteries) in 2020 will be 26,378 yuan/tool.
Based on this benchmark, the average funeral price per body in mainland China is calculated by using the year-on-year growth rate of per capita consumption expenditure of Chinese residents from 2014 to 2020, and the market size of China's funeral industry in 2020 is about 263.8 billion yuan.
In the future, with the increase of the elderly population, the annual death toll in the mainland will also show a slight increase, which will bring greater demand to the funeral industry; At the same time, with the improvement of residents' living standards and the increase of residents' consumption expenditure, the per capita funeral expenditure will also continue to increase, and the industry market will continue to expand and have broad development prospects.
Based on the annual death toll of 10 million, assuming that the average annual consumption expenditure increases by 8%, the per capita funeral price will increase to 41,000 yuan by 2026, and the market size of the mainland funeral industry will reach 411.4 billion yuan in 2026.
State Councilor Wang Yong pointed out that in recent years, the mainland's funeral reform has been deepened, and the funeral management work has been generally standardized and orderly, but at the same time, there are also outstanding problems that the masses have strongly resented, such as indiscriminate charging of funeral services, excessive construction of tombs, and hoarding of tombs. All localities and relevant departments should follow the requirements of this special rectification action, persist in following laws and regulations, highlight the key points of rectification, severely crack down on all kinds of violations of laws and regulations, and earnestly protect the legitimate rights and interests of the masses. It is necessary to implement comprehensive policies, treat both the symptoms and the root causes, accelerate the improvement of relevant laws and policies on funeral management, strengthen the guarantee and supply of basic funeral services, and promote the construction of a funeral service supply pattern with public welfare as the main body, for-profit as the supplement, and land-saving ecology as the guidance. It is necessary to strengthen publicity and guidance, advocate new trends and healthy trends, actively promote civilized and thrifty funeral management, land-saving ecological burials, and civilized low-carbon sacrifices, and create a good atmosphere for the whole society to support funeral reform and management.
Prospective Economist APP Information Group
For more research and analysis of this industry, please refer to the "Market Research and Investment Forecast Analysis Report of China's Funeral Service Industry" by Qianzhan Industry Research Institute.
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