Efforts to cultivate food sector fruitful

Yantai, a coastal city in East China's Shandong province, is committed to building a brand for itself as "China's food city".

"We are working to boost the city's food sector by promoting food diversity and security, aiming to develop the city into a heavyweight in both China and the overseas food market," said Zhang Yongxia, mayor of the city.

The food sector has always been one of Yantai's competitive industries. The China Food Industry Association recognized Yantai as a well-known Chinese food city in 2009.

Statistics from the local government show that last year revenue generated from the city's food industry hit 181 billion yuan ($28.4 billion), an increase of 8.7 percent from the previous year.

There are more than 500 major enterprises doing business in the city's food industry. These include Changyu Pioneer Wine Co, oil producer Shandong Luhua Co, Shandong Longda Meat Foodstuff Co, Yantai North Andre Juice Co and Shandong Oriental Ocean Sci-tech Co. All the companies play leading roles in their sectors.

Yantai has a competitive edge in 16 food sectors including fruit and vegetables, oil, meat, aquatic products, vermicelli, cake, candy, instant foods, dairy products and condiments.

The city has 27 nationally famous trademarks and 96 leading provincial trademarks in the food sector. Three brands - Changyu, Luhua and Longda -were named among China's top 500 most valuable brands in 2014.

Food products made in Yantai are exported to more than 80 countries and regions including Russia, the United States and South Korea. According to the city's plans, revenue generated from the food industry will reach 300 billion yuan by the end of 2017.

Fruit hometown

"With its favorable climate conditions and geographical location, Yantai has become one of China's most important fruit planting, processing and exporting bases," Zhang Yongxia said.

The city is known as China's hometown of fruit. Fruits produced in Yantai, such as apples, cherries, pears and grapes, are known far and wide, said Zhang.

Yantai apples, which were given geographic indication status by the State Quality Supervision and Inspection and Quarantine Administration in 2002, have become one of the things the city is renowned for.

With a cultivating history of more than 140 years, Yantai has 181,333 hectares of apple orchards, with an annual output of 4.23 million metric tons, according to statistics from the Yantai Agriculture Bureau.

The city has more than 200 varieties of apples. The brand Yantai Apple has a value of 10.59 billion yuan, the leading amount in China's fruit industry for seven consecutive years.

With a bright color and sweet taste, Yantai apples are exported to more than 60 countries and regions with an annual export volume of 600,000 tons, accounting for one-fourth of the country's total apple exports.

Twenty-one tons of Yantai apples were shipped from Yantai to the United States on Nov 9. It was the first time for Yantai apples to enter the US market. As a country with strict inspection and quarantine measures, the US had previously forbidden apple imports from China for 17 years.

"As the price in the US is twice the price in Asian countries, expanding to the US market will surely promote the apple industry in Yantai and increase locals' income," said Bai Guoqiang, head of Yantai Agriculture Bureau.

Cherries are another well-known fruit from Yantai, where cherry trees have grown for 130 years. More than 25,000 hectares of cherry trees produce about 190,000 tons of the fruit a year. The cherries are exported to more than 60 countries and regions, including South Korea, Germany and the US.

At almost the same latitude as Bordeaux in France, Yantai is also considered one of the world's top seven coastal grape-growing areas. It was named the only "international grape and wine city" in Asia by the International Office of Vine and Wine in 1987.

The city now has more than 18,000 hectares of vineyards, 11,000 hectares of which provide grapes for winemaking. It is home to more than 20 international wine businesses and a large number of domestic vintners, including the brands Changyu, Great Wall and Dynasty. Chateau Lafite Rothschild selected Penglai, a county-level city of Yantai, to develop its first vineyard and chateau in China.

International food expo

To further boost its food industry, Yantai holds a series of international food expos and trade fairs every year.

During the 16th Fruit, Vegetable and Food Fair held in the city last month, thousands of participants from more than 10 countries and regions including Japan, South Korea and Italy came to Yantai in search of business opportunities.

The four-day event attracted organizations and companies from home and abroad to display fruits, vegetables, seedlings, food processing equipment and agricultural machinery at nearly 900 booths.

Six overseas organizations and delegations including the Japan Consul General in Qingdao participated in the fair and brought their latest developments in fruit and vegetable production and related equipment manufacturing.

Some high-tech products at the expo were particularly interesting, including irrigation equipment from Israel, Italy's agriculture testing machines, apple-planting technology from Japan and unmanned plant protection helicopters from Shandong.

"Held in Yantai every year since 1999, the event has become one of China's most influential expos in the fruit, vegetable and food industry. It provides a sound exchange and cooperation platform for Chinese and foreign companies in the sector," Zhang said at the event's opening ceremony.

The fair's organizers said that the event has attracted more than 1.7 million delegates from across the world during the past 15 years. This year's event alone attracted 58,000 visitors and the trade volume hit 230 million yuan.

wangqian2@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/19/2015 page10)