China Becomes the World's Largest Producer and Consumer of Potatoes, Pushing Forward the Industrialization of Potatoes as a Staple Food
Nowadays, various agricultural resource factors are stretched tight, and residents' demands for improving the nutritional structure of staple foods are growing ever higher. China's push to develop the potato industry comes at just the right time——
The potato is a major food that is nutritious and convenient to eat, and has become the world's fourth-largest food crop after rice, wheat, and corn. In recent years, China's potato production has continued to develop steadily. In 2014, the planting area reached 5.57 million hectares, and fresh potato output exceeded 95 million tonnes. Both the area and the output account for about one quarter of the world's total, and China has become the largest country in potato production and consumption.
At the recently held International Symposium on Potato Staple Food Products and Industrial Development, many government officials and experts said that advancing the development of potato staple food products and the industry comes at just the right time.
An Important Choice for Transforming Agricultural Development Models
China's grain production achieved an “eleventh consecutive increase” last year, but from a development perspective, grain demand will continue to increase. At the same time, affected by narrowing resource bottlenecks, growing environmental pressure, and declining planting returns, it is becoming more difficult for staple grain varieties such as wheat and rice to continue increasing yields.
China is a country with many people, little land, and scarce water. Its per capita arable land and freshwater resources are only 40% and 25% of the world average, respectively. Potatoes are very suitable for cultivation in developing countries where land is limited but labor is relatively abundant. Vice Minister of Agriculture Yu Xinrong said, “Compared with wheat and rice, potatoes are cold-resistant, drought-resistant, and tolerant of poor soil. In China, they are planted from south to north, from high altitudes to low altitudes, and in all four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. In particular, the southern region has great potential for developing winter fallow fields to grow potatoes.”
“In areas with annual rainfall of only about 350 millimeters, cereal crops have difficulty growing and developing, while potatoes can not only grow normally but also reduce soil erosion.” introduced Vice Minister of Agriculture Qu Dongyu. In the arid and semi-arid regions of North China and Northwest China, potatoes have become an important pillar crop for escaping poverty and becoming prosperous.
Helping to Improve Dietary Structure
At present, China's resident consumption has entered a new stage. Urban and rural residents live more comfortably, pay ever more attention to nutrition and health, and have an increasingly urgent desire to improve the nutritional structure of food. Actively advancing potato staple food products and industrial development, and providing residents with staple food products suited to their dietary habits, such as potato steamed buns and noodles, is an important measure to improve residents' nutritional and health levels.
⟦NL> Last year, China issued the “China Food and Nutrition Development Outline (2014-2020)”, widely publicizing the nutritional value of potatoes and guiding residents toward healthy consumption.
Wang Xiaohu, director of the Institute of Food and Nutrition Development of the Ministry of Agriculture, told reporters that at present, China's staple food products, represented by flour-based and rice-based products, have similar and incomplete nutritional structures and are high in calories. Some consumers have even adopted unscientific eating behaviors, such as temporarily not eating staple foods or consuming very small amounts of staple foods, disrupting normal dietary patterns. Potatoes are relatively low in calories and comprehensive in nutrition, and can adapt to modern residents' new demands and new expectations for staple food consumption.
Conditions for Industrialized Development Are Already in Place
According to Dai Xiaofeng, director of the Institute of Agro-Products Processing Science and Technology of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, in recent years, China's potato staple food products and industrial development team has carried out research on the selection of potato varieties dedicated to staple foods, formulas and processes, quality formation mechanisms, and comprehensive evaluation of nutrients. It has successfully achieved industrialized production demonstrations of potato steamed buns and noodles, opening broad prospects for the promotion and application of processing technology and equipment for potato staple food products.
Yu Xinrong pointed out that to promote the industrialized development of potato staple food products, top-level design must first be strengthened and planning guidance done well. All localities must be guided to advance potato staple food products and industrial development in an orderly manner, overall layout must be strengthened, and phased progress must be carried out well. According to regional economic development levels, product consumer markets, and demonstration-driven effects, key cities should be selected for advancement, using them as cores to drive potato staple food processing and consumption within the region, and building a pattern of phased progress and market expansion.
The reporter learned that Yanqing County in Beijing has become the largest seed potato research and development base in China, with an annual output of 150 million microtubers. In addition, Yanqing County and Zhangjiakou City in Hebei Province will also sign a strategic cooperation framework agreement for the potato industry, cooperating in areas such as potato variety breeding and promotion and high-yield and high-efficiency demonstrations, and jointly building science and technology parks and industrial bases.