Chinese processing approaching 88 million tons TRADE AND MARKET I NG Don Wang is convinced that expert knowledge and mechanisation are essential to develop the Chinese cultivation further. paying much more attention to the potato, marketing included, the Chinese population has started to eat more potatoes and potato products. In total, the government has set aside 142 million euros for the promotion campaign’, he calculates. To develop the Chinese potato sector, he believes strongly in importing knowledge. ‘That’s important to take the cultivation of potatoes to a higher level’, is his opinion. He himself takes advantage of Dutch potato expertise. In the coming years, Wang expects growth in both fresh and processed products. He is active in both markets. In view of developments, he expects his potato turnover to double or even treble in the coming years. ‘In 2018, we’ll definitely be processing 100,000 tons of chips. We’re also going to expand in other areas’, the enthusiastic entrepreneur explains. Wang indicated that the introduction of varieties is far too slow. The reason why he decided to become active in breeding himself is that he can introduce suitable Chinese varieties, as the Chinese government appears to be really keen on them. Recent collaboration with Farm Frites. Farm Frites made its first appearance with the Inner Mongolia Linkage Potato company. Yan Hongzhi of Linkage has a joint venture with Farm Frites with his company owning 75 percent of the shares and Farm Frites 25 percent. He plans to put 150,000 tons of potatoes into storage in order to produce 70,000 tons of French fries. Linkage is also already active in the starch market. Hongzhi indicates that the new government policy offers him enormous opportunities in the Chinese market. Jochem Rovers of Farm Frites is closely involved in the project. The Dutch input mainly focuses on the development of knowledge to increase the hectare yield further, thereby further reducing the cost price of potatoes, he says. Two sides In 2009, the Dutch APH Group in Heerenveen had already achieved a mega order in China. The Xisen Company from Inner Mongolia invested 10 million euros in potato mechanisation in that year. This Dutch company is currently still playing an important role in Chinese potato mechanisation. Despite the ambitious plans of the government, commercial director of APH China, Xiaofeng Zhang, also sees considerable problems ahead. ‘The challenges of the Chinese potato sector at this moment are cost reduction and quality improvement. We’ll need to tackle these problems first before starting to expand production so quickly. The lack of clean water in the dry growing areas in Inner Mongolia is a major problem. Technically, we could move production to other areas, but that would increase the distance to the market, because 60 percent of the Chinese population lives on the east coast. If you go further west, apart from the more arid climate conditions, there’s an enormous distance to bridge. And there are many mountainous regions in the southern parts of China. That’s absolutely wonderful for the cultivation of rice, but very difficult for growing potatoes’, Zhang explains. In addition, there are lots of food scandals around. ‘There were a number of big scandals concernYan Hongzhi (r) from Linkage and Jochem Rovers from Farm Frites aim to produce 70,000 tons of chips in a Chinese joint venture. Potato World 2016 • number 2 23 Pagina 22
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