Yangtze River Delta Region

With its fertile soil, the Yangtze River Delta produces abundant grain, cotton, hemp and tea and the agricultural sector plays an important part in the economy. The Yangtze River region is also one of the key pig-producing regions in the country. China has been the largest live pig and pork producing country in the world for many years; 48-50% of the worlds live pigs are grown in China.

With numerous investments in modern processing technology along with a rising household income, the consumption of food products is increasing rapidly which offers a tremendous growth potential for international companies.

The Shanghai government has recently tightened control and regulations on the food safety and quality management. The city has witnessed continued fast growth of its export of agricultural farm products. As of the end of 2008, the city has certified 571 farm products as residue-free farm products, green products or organic foods. The exported products, ranging from vegetables, flowers, edible mushrooms, fruit and special aquatic products to processed poultry products went to other Asian countries, the United States and Europe. As of the end of 2008, there were more than 180 enterprises in the city dealing in export of farm products.

The Taihu Lake area in southern Jiangsu Province is known as a land of plenty because it is richly endowed by nature with abundant water and fish resources. With more than 140 kinds of freshwater fishes, Jiangsu is the major producing area for river crabs and young eels. An extensive coastline to the Yellow Sea and a significant fish farming industry also help to classify Jiangsu province as a major producer of aquatic products. The fertile soil surrounding the many lakes and rivers in Jiangsu province has stimulated the agricultural production. Grains, cotton and oil-bearing crops are grown almost everywhere around the province. There are more than 260 types of fruit trees, tea plants, mulberry trees and flowers, and more than 1000 kinds of vegetables. Jiangsu is also famous for its silkworm rearing and green tea.

The food sector in the Zhejiang Province is undergoing significant developments with focus on modernized large enterprises, new policies and strengthening of food safety management. Zhejiang is traditionally one of China’s agricultural centres. It has a highly developed farming and food processing industry and recently started focusing on developing and securing the organic farming. With Zhejiang’s coastline occupying more than 20 % of the entire Chinese coastline, the fishing industry is of great importance and the Zhoushan Archipelago is the largest area for sea fishery in China.