According to a national meeting on the processing industry of farm produces, which opened here Sunday, the industry will further tap into the country's unique resources so as to better respond to market demand. By 2005, more than 55 percent of the farm produces will be processed before reaching the market, comparing with the current ratio of 30 percent.

The Chinese government is to launch a national program of developing the processing industry of farm produces this year. The program is aimed to enhance the competitiveness of the farming industry after China entered the WTO, create new jobs for millions of idle rural laborers and increase the income of farmers who make up over 70 percent of the country's population.

Minister of Agriculture Du Qinglin told the meeting that the Chinese government will concentrate resources on developing nine different farming zones that are highly specialized in processing specific produces. The nine specialized processing zones include a quality wheat belt in east China, a corn and bean belt in north and northeast China, a rape seed belt along the Yangtze River, a beef and mutton belt in central China, a milk belt in northern part of China, an apple belt around the Bohai Bay and in northwest China, an orange belt in southern part of China, an aquatic belt along big rivers and lakes and a tea belt in major tea growing areas.

In the next few years, the Ministry of Agriculture and other government departments will support the expansion of a group of farm produce processing companies in terms of supply bases, research and development, technical renovation and marketing.

Official figures showed that China has become the largest producer of grain, edible oil crops, fruits, meat, eggs and aquatic products in the world. However, the country processes only 30 percent of the total output, compared with the ratio of more than 80 percent in industrialized countries.

The Ministry of Agriculture predicts that by 2005, the total new value that the country's farm produce processing industry creates every year will reach 3,400 billion yuan (411 billion US dollars). This means an annual growth of 10 percent in the next three years.

In order to reach this target, the country will focus on establishing a secured system of farm produce supply, a system of processing enterprises, a system of quality control and safety, a system of technical innovations and a system of policy support in conformity with the WTO rules.

Du said China is accelerating the development of a quality control and safety system in line with international practice. The country is perfecting quality standards of processed farm goods and will adopt a label system that marks the origination, quality and standards of these products.

Du said the country will develop an all-round monitoring system of quarantine, chemical residue test, environmental survey and quality control of processed farm produces, adding that a group of test centers will be established all over the country.

He said China encourages the adoption of advanced quality and safety standards of foreign countries and is actively pushing forward the national standards to international levels. He said China will also accelerate the process of quality certification of processed farm produces, especially foodstuffs. It will adopt a number of authentication and labeling systems, including HACCP, GMP and green food.

( August 19, 2002)