China will accelerate the development of potato staple food products and industrialization
More comprehensive nutrition, reduced consumption of water and soil resources, and great potential for raising per-unit yield…… The future development prospects of the humble potato should not be underestimated. At the 2015 World Potato Congress and the International Symposium on Potato Staple Food Products and Industrial Development held in Yanqing, Beijing, the potato became a hot topic of attention for government departments, industry experts and the public.
Keywords: balanced nutrition, food security, sustainability
The potato is the world's fourth-largest food crop after rice, wheat and corn, and is also China's fourth-largest food crop. Last year, China's potato planting area was 5,570 thousand hectares, with fresh potato output of more than 95 million tonnes; both the area and the output accounted for about 1/4 of the world's total, making China the world's largest potato producer and consumer.
“The potato contains all seven major categories of nutrients essential to the human body, including carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and dietary fibre. Its lysine content is far higher than that of wheat and rice, so it can be developed into nutritious and healthful staple food products.” said Wang Xiaohu, director of the Institute of Food and Nutrition Development under the Ministry of Agriculture. At present, China's annual per capita potato consumption is 41.2 kg, far below the level of European and American countries, and the consumption structure is monotonous, mainly fresh vegetables and French fries. Accelerating the development of staple food products such as potato steamed buns and noodles can provide new options for raising nutrition and health levels.
It is worth noting that the potato industry is conducive to sustainable agricultural development. In arid and semi-arid areas with annual precipitation of around 350 mm, potatoes can not only grow normally but also reduce soil and water loss. Trials show that in the North China groundwater overexploitation area with annual precipitation of 500 mm, potato yield per mu can still reach 1.8 tonnes under fully rain-fed conditions.
Potato staple food products and industrialization development face multiple challenges
Experts from the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences pointed out through research that China's potato staple food products and industrial development currently face multiple challenges:
—— Lack of varieties. Among the potato varieties currently grown in China, only a few are suitable for staple food development with Chinese characteristics. Varieties dedicated to fried food processing and whole flour processing are still mainly foreign varieties, which have weak adaptability and poor disease resistance. Different staple food products such as steamed buns, noodles and rice noodles require different varieties, and variety breeding is key.
—— Dietary habits. Chinese people have always regarded wheat, rice and corn as staple foods. To make the potato one of the staple foods, in addition to working on product quality and variety, the more important thing is how to adapt to Chinese consumers' habits, which will be a long-term process.
—— Price and cost. Processing potatoes into whole flour requires multiple steps, which increases production costs. At present, the price of potato whole flour is around 10,000 yuan/tonne, 3 to 4 times that of wheat flour. The relatively high product cost is an important limiting factor for making potatoes a staple food.
—— Unstable returns. From 2011 to 2013, potato prices went from their lowest point through a stable period to a high period, and in 2014 potato prices in most production areas entered a slump again; at present prices in various production areas are rising. How to stabilise planting returns and ensure stable output is the key to meeting staple food demand.
Promoting the shift of potatoes from a side dish to a staple food
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, in June this year, the first-generation potato steamed buns with a potato whole flour content of 30% went on sale in Beijing and are now sold in more than 200 supermarkets across the city. Second-generation potato staple food products have also been successfully developed, with the potato whole flour content of potato steamed buns, noodles and rice noodles raised to 70%, 45% and 55% respectively, creating conditions for more consumers to embrace potato staple food products.
The reporter learned from the symposium that in the future China will adhere to the concept of “nutrition guiding consumption, consumption guiding production”, accelerate the breeding of varieties dedicated to staple food processing, build high-quality raw material production bases, research and develop staple food products and processing techniques, support leading processing enterprises, and promote the shift of potatoes from side dish consumption to staple food consumption, from raw material products to industrialised series of finished products, and from subsistence consumption to nutritious and healthful consumption, forming a new pattern of coordinated development of potatoes and grains.
Next, China will make use of winter fallow fields in the south, arid and semi-arid areas in the northwest and groundwater overexploitation areas in North China to expand potato production according to local conditions. It will optimise the layout of raw material production for potato staple foods, strengthen product and process research and development, cultivate market consumption entities, and build a complete industrial chain.
At the same time, it will adhere to combining government guidance with market regulation. It will support leading enterprises integrating breeding, propagation, promotion and processing, and scientifically guide the development of potato staple food products and industry as well as market consumption. It will first cultivate a number of key cities and continuously optimise the layout of production, processing and consumption.