Steamed buns reflect push for new starch staple

Steamed buns containing about 30 percent of potato flour have become a new staple choice in more than 200 supermarkets in Beijing recently, following China's national strategy to make potato a staple food after rice, wheat and corn.

The country will see 50 billion kilograms of new food demand by 2020, but has a shortage of farmland and it is also difficult to improve the yield of wheat and rice, according to Chinese reports. Because the potato can survive in cold, drought and barren environments, it has becomes an attractive food alternative.

Priced at 5.8 yuan (93 cents) for a package of three, they are a little more expensive than traditional wheat-flour steamed buns, China's version of bread. Between 500 and 600 packages of the new potato steamed buns are sold each day, according to Li Lianggong, deputy general manager with Beijing Haileda Food Co, the largest staple food manufacturer in Beijing, which launched the new products in June. That's about 1 percent of the company's steamed-bun sales, he says.