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Tibet to produce instant noodles with highland barley

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-08-15 17:03

A Tibetan firm has teamed up with an inland company to make instant noodles out of highland barley, a typical plant in the "roof of the world," according to local economic authorities.

Jiangsu Qidong Shengdahao Co Ltd, a commerce and trade company based in the eastern Jiangsu province, will pump in 13 million yuan ($1.91 million), to the Tibet Longhu Co Ltd to produce barley instant noodles, according to an official with Lhasa Municipal Investment Promotion Bureau.

It will be the first time that instant noodles are made from highland barley, staple food for most Tibetans, the bureau said.

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"Highland barley contains 8.62 percent of beta-glucan, the highest among all the triticeae crops," said Qiang Xiaolin, manager of Agricultural Research Institute, Tibet Academy of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Sciences.

"We believe that beta-glucan can adjust blood sugar, lower cholesterol and improve human immunity," he added.

Tibet boasts an annual production of 550,000 to 600,000 tons of highland barley.

Products, such as highland barley buns and flakes, have been mushrooming in the region over the past decade.