Turning Potatoes into a Staple Food Is No Small Matter: Five Questions About Potato Staple-ization

The Ministry of Agriculture says it will promote potatoes as China's fourth-largest staple food; experts say the ultimate goal is to win public acceptance in terms of varieties, nutrition and other aspects

On the 6th, a seminar on the development strategy for potato staple-ization, hosted by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and other institutions, with the participation of a vice minister of agriculture, was held. The meeting discussed potato staple-ization and national food security. The seminar proposed promoting potatoes as a staple on the dining table, gradually making potatoes the fourth-largest staple food crop in China after rice, wheat and corn, which sparked public attention. Experts say that against the backdrop of limited room for increasing yields of other staple crops, growing ecological and environmental pressure, and unbalanced consumer nutrition, there is a need to upgrade potatoes to a “staple food.”

1 Is potato staple-ization driven by food security?

At present, potatoes are regarded as a vegetable in many places. Although they have been recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture as a food crop and are China's fourth-largest food crop after rice, wheat and corn, they still have not risen to the status of a “staple food.”

Vice Minister of Agriculture Yu Xinrong pointed out at the seminar that the development of potato staple-ization is an important measure to thoroughly implement the central government's efforts to promote agricultural structural adjustment, transformation of development modes and sustainable development, and is an active exploration under the new situation to safeguard national food security and promote sustained increases in farmers' incomes.

Ye Xingqing, director of the Rural Economy Research Department of the Development Research Center of the State Council, who attended the meeting, said that in the past year or two the Ministry of Agriculture has also been vigorously promoting potato staple-ization, but the convening of this meeting was at a relatively high level and has landmark significance.

A crop research expert from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences said that China has indeed for a fairly long time attached importance to staple grains such as wheat and rice while neglecting other food crops such as corn and potatoes, and that the connotation of food security also includes the diversity of food structure, so the role of potatoes should be further brought into play.

2 What impact will promotion to “staple food” have?

An expert from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences said that the status of a “staple food” and a “non-staple food” is completely different. Becoming a staple food crop means enjoying more support and preferential policies in industry, and in scientific research there will also be a large amount of project funding invested in research such as developing new varieties.

Ye Xingqing also said that at present, from national teams to local teams in China, research and development on potatoes is very weak. Crops such as wheat are key research targets and it is easy to obtain projects, but by comparison projects and investment for potato research and development are insufficient.

Ye Xingqing said that in regions such as the northwest there are still poor areas that use potatoes as a staple food, but for most places, especially economically developed areas, potatoes are used more in cooking or as leisure foods.

Lu Dianqiu, deputy director of the Virus-Free Seedling Research Institute of the Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said that potato staple-ization does not mean it will become the main fresh food people eat, but will be reflected more in processed products. The most prominent manifestation is the whole flour and starch made from potatoes, used to make processed foods such as steamed buns and noodles.

3 How high is the potential for increasing potato yields?

Lu Dianqiu said that China's current average yields of corn, rice and wheat have already exceeded the world average, but because arable land area is limited, the room for increasing yields is also small, and raising yields is relatively difficult.

As for potatoes, he said, the national average yield is lower than the world level, at one-half to one-third of the level of developed countries, and China's per capita consumption of potatoes is only 14 kg, far below that of developed countries. Potatoes still have great potential for increasing yields. As long as investment in technology, varieties and funding is increased, a relatively large increase in yield can be achieved without increasing arable land area.

Wang Peilun, a potato expert at the Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said that if calculated by dry matter yield, potatoes can achieve higher yields than corn and wheat. For example, Shandong's highest wheat yield last year reached more than 800 kg per mu, while after conversion by dry matter yield, the unit yield of potatoes can reach more than 1,000 kg.

4 Do eating habits affect potato consumption?

A reporter visited an old-established grain shop in Dongcheng District yesterday and found that there were very few processed potato products, and they were more expensive. For example, as far as starch is concerned, the shop's potato starch sold for twice the price of ordinary corn starch. In addition, staple food processed products in the shop such as steamed buns and noodles were basically made from wheat and corn.

Wang Peilun said that at present, for potato processors, there is a problem of excessively high raw material costs, which is related to many factors such as the time-limited storage of fresh potatoes. “Raw materials need cold storage before leaving the factory, which requires capital investment in factory facilities,” he said.

He said that for ordinary consumers, due to inherent eating habits, consumption of potatoes is not large, while internationally, potato consumption is highest in developed countries such as Europe and the United States and lowest in African countries. “Overall, developed countries consume more potatoes because their per capita consumption capacity is very high.”

5 What kind of staple food will potatoes become?

Ye Xingqing said that at present the weaker links in the potato industry are processing and consumption. Because fresh potatoes are not conducive to storage, processing them is advocated. After being turned into whole flour, they can be stored for a long time, and the whole flour can be made into foods such as steamed buns, stuffed buns, noodles and bread.

Lu Dianqiu also said that after potatoes are made into processed products such as whole flour, they have wide applications and are also very convenient to store and transport.

He said that potatoes becoming a staple food does not simply mean French fries and potato chips, but more often appearing in forms such as noodles and steamed buns. Leisure foods should also exist, but if they are not turned into steamed buns and noodles, they can never be reflected in staple foods.

He added, “For individuals there will not be much impact. Those who liked eating steamed buns will still eat steamed buns, and those who liked eating noodles will still eat noodles. National policy is not coercive. Whether it can become a staple food ultimately depends on winning public acceptance in terms of varieties, nutrition and other aspects.”