China is a country with a rapidly developing economy and new technologies, and is also a world leader in potato production. Interest in it from Russian business is only increasing every year.
At the end of October, a group of representatives of companies participating in the potato market, wishing to evaluate the achievements and prospects of the specialized sub-industry in the Middle Kingdom, went on a week-long trip to China, organized by the Potato System magazine and Agrotrade Group of Companies with the support of the POTATOES NEWS portal.
The trip was timed to coincide with the 13th China International Potato Expo 2023, held from October 23 to 25 in Tengzhou (Shandong Province).
In addition to visiting the exhibition, the business program of the visit included excursions to the Selection and Seed Production Center of the Xisen Potato Industrial Group Company Limited, a plant for the production of potato processing equipment in Qingdao and other specialized enterprises.
From participant reviews
Sergey Kokovin, potato purchasing and supply manager at Lorenz Snack World Production Kirishi LLC
– When planning the trip, I expected to see exemplary modern agricultural enterprises, a wide range of equipment for potato processing and, of course, I wanted to discuss with representatives of Chinese enterprises the possibility of supplying some parts for our production, since it is now difficult to bring anything from Europe.
Unfortunately, we did not visit the fields where potatoes are grown: by the end of October the harvest had already been harvested. But judging by the exhibition stands at the exhibition we visited, we can conclude that in terms of technical equipment, Russian farms are far ahead of Chinese ones: almost all the machines on display were designed to work in small areas.
Industrial lines for the production of potato processing products, presented at the Qingdao plant, are also not designed for large-scale production. Although, most likely, more powerful lines will appear here in the coming years: Chinese manufacturers learn quickly and quickly respond to demand.
I was amazed by the endless variety of highly processed potato products: noodles, bread, cookies, pancakes, chips, french fries...
The impressions from the trip were generally positive; we not only learned a lot, but also talked with colleagues from our group and exchanged experiences. And they came to the conclusion that our agriculture, although still slightly behind European ones, is nevertheless at a very good level.