COFCO President Yu Xubo on building the Belt and Road on the tip of the tongue
“In recent years, under the pattern of co-governance by society, China's overall food safety situation has been steadily improving.” During the fourth “Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) China Theme Day” event, COFCO Group President Yu Xubo said that now is the best period for the development of the food industry, and China has played an indispensable role in the process of globalization of food trade. Relying on the GFSI platform, COFCO has introduced management experience, technology and standards, carried out in-depth exchanges and cooperation with world-class enterprises in fields such as source management, inspection and testing, accelerated its alignment with the world's advanced management level, and enhanced the international community's confidence in China's food safety.
The best period for the development of the food industry
At present, China's food industry continues to develop vigorously, and its position as a pillar of the national economy has become increasingly prominent. In 2014, the total output value of the food industry was close to 11 trillion, and its added value accounted for 11.9% of the added value of the entire industrial sector. The industrial structure has been continuously optimized, product varieties have become increasingly rich, and consumer demand has been well satisfied. Processing technology has made considerable progress, the international influence of independent brands has continued to increase, and the level of food safety assurance has steadily improved.
Data show that in the 10 years from 2004 to 2013, global food trade volume grew from 1.3 trillion tons to 3 trillion tons, an increase of 130%. During these 10 years, China's food trade volume grew from 51.4 billion tons to 185 billion tons, an increase of 260%, twice the global trade volume.
At present, China exports food to more than 210 countries and regions. As the world's largest food exporter, its export food qualification rate has remained above 99% for many years.
Yu Xubo told reporters that over 66 years, COFCO has been rooted in the Chinese market and has formed a complete industrial chain from field to table. In China's main agricultural products production areas and food sales areas, it has formed production, processing, warehousing and logistics networks tailored to local conditions, and through a sales network covering 90% of the Chinese market, it delivers products to the tables of 1.3 billion Chinese people.
Moreover, “in the four years since joining GFSI, COFCO has actively participated in the formulation of international standards, drawn on benchmark experience, improved management levels, and guided and promoted food enterprises upstream and downstream of the industrial chain to jointly improve food safety management levels.” Wan Zaotian, Vice President of COFCO Group, hopes that more food manufacturers, service providers, retailers and industry associations and other food safety stakeholders will join GFSI, jointly build a technical exchange platform for food safety management, benchmark against outstanding international enterprises, improve food safety management systems, and promote the alignment of Chinese standards with the world's advanced standards.
As the only board member among Chinese food production enterprises in GFSI, COFCO Group has hosted the “Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) China Theme Day” event for four consecutive years, aiming to continuously promote international exchange and cooperation in the field of food safety, reshape the image of China's food industry, and present China's calling card on the international stage.
“Belt and Road” becomes a new topic for Chinese enterprises
With the introduction of China's “Belt and Road” vision and action plan, Chinese food enterprises have entered a golden period of development. How to seize the opportunity and build the “Belt and Road” on the tip of the tongue has become a new topic facing food enterprises, and how central enterprises can set an industry benchmark has attracted much attention.
Yu Xubo told reporters that under the guidance of the “Belt and Road” vision, COFCO is oriented toward the international market and continuously strengthens in-depth cooperation with global business partners in fields such as agricultural products, grain, oil and food, tomatoes, fruits and vegetables, beverages, the liquor industry, the sugar industry, feed, meat and bioenergy. Through strategic layout in links such as logistics, processing and distribution, it has formed a procurement platform and trade network capable of coordinated operation.
In 2015, COFCO Group's ranking in the Fortune Global 500 rose from 401st last year to 272nd this year, making it the fastest-rising Chinese enterprise.
With both a full industrial chain and a well-developed procurement platform and purchasing and sales network, how to better align with the world in the next step and lead industry enterprises to form a joint force will undoubtedly be the difficulty of implementation.
To this end, Yu Xubo witnessed the signing of a global strategic cooperation agreement between the China Nutrition and Health Food Association (CNHFA) and the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). The two sides will establish a Food Safety Promotion Professional Committee to achieve work alignment with GFSI China. Industry insiders believe that this move marks the official landing of the Global Food Safety Initiative organization in China.
The two sides will be committed to building a platform for communication, exchange, resource sharing and sharing of best practices between the industry and the public sector, and will carry out food safety capacity building and educational activities. At the same time, they will establish a self-discipline mechanism, introduce and promote internationally leading best food safety practice methods based on HACCP principles, and coordinate the food safety requirements of food buyers and producers by developing GFSI-recognized standards.