Industrial planning must not leave out the marketing link

When conducting interviews at the grassroots level, this reporter has attended quite a few press conferences on topics such as industrial revitalization and industrial planning. Whenever I hear how much the area and scale will expand within a few years, while there is a lack of planning for downstream marketing, I cannot help but feel worried: what if the products cannot be sold in the future?

The frequent reports of unsalable agricultural products are all, upon analysis, closely related to the mindset in agriculture of "valuing production and neglecting marketing." In the early stage of industrial development, many regions always expand scale blindly and in a disorderly way, but pay little attention and investment to downstream marketing. Once the two are not coordinated, unsalable products always arrive unexpectedly.

Today's consumer market is no longer a shortage-driven structure, but has entered a stage of diversification and personalization. Consumers can vote with their "feet" at any time.

How should marketing be done? Many people think that placing some advertisements and doing some promotions is enough, and that it is purely a matter for businesses and has nothing to do with the government. In reality, in the entire process of agricultural product production, circulation, and trading, marketing is everywhere, and the government has a great deal it can do.

Taking Erdu bayberry as an example, industry insiders say that the drawbacks of old varieties are becoming increasingly prominent and urgently need improvement. This requires selecting and promoting high-quality varieties in order to seize the market.

In the past, agricultural products were limited by geography and could only rely on the local market, but with breakthroughs in logistics technology, blank markets at home and abroad will provide unprecedented opportunities. Therefore, it is necessary to gain insight into market consumption trends and produce products that are well suited to demand.

Looking next at the processing link, even for Erdu bayberry, the good-quality ones are mostly sold as fresh fruit, but they account for only one-third of total output, while the rest are mostly sold at low prices to food processing plants making canned goods and the like. When the market is sluggish, many bayberries even fall to the ground and rot on the branches.

In developed countries, processed agricultural products account for 90 percent of total production, with value increasing by two to three times after processing. In China, that proportion is only one-quarter, and the value added is only 30 percent. Therefore, agricultural product processing, mainly food industry processing, cannot be ignored.

Finally, there is brand marketing. Scattered farmers and small enterprises, even if they have the intention, find it difficult to have the funds and advanced concepts to take the path of branding. This requires the government to provide public services and mainly promote regional public brands, so that many small and scattered enterprise brands can go global by borrowing the ship and develop by grouping together.

Marketing is a major topic that requires the government to make overall considerations and provide supporting support. If the downstream market is made bigger and more vibrant, then the upstream production will not need much support, and there will naturally be momentum. Therefore, when waving the banner of industrial development, in planning measures, do not neglect marketing.