Continuation. Start here
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.
Vladimir Revenko, General Director of RusUpak LLC
– I had several requests for this trip. First, I wanted to see equipment for agriculture: how and with what they harvest crops in China. Secondly, it was interesting how agricultural products are packaged in the Celestial Empire and through what channels they are sold. And most importantly: it so happened that many of my company’s clients went on this business journey, and I planned to communicate with them in an informal setting. In terms of communication, everything turned out even better than I expected. Otherwise, perhaps not everything fully met my expectations. For example, the exhibition was small, and there were no companies of the profile I was looking for, but this did not spoil the overall impression.
Agricultural China surprised me in that the production of seed material there is much simpler than in Russia. And this has not only advantages, but also disadvantages: when an enterprise transfers control of each node, it inevitably loses in quality.
A small discovery was baked goods with the addition of potatoes; I had never heard of these before.
I was a little puzzled by the attitude of employees of Chinese enterprises towards foreign guests. Wherever we went, we were greeted like celebrities: they lined up around us to greet us, accompanied the whole team on excursions, and were both pleased and embarrassed by such attention.
Yes, and I also noticed that Chinese national cuisine does not contain potatoes; I have not encountered dishes with a predominance of this product in local catering establishments. Potatoes are used only as an additive, and a rather veiled one. The only exception was the borscht I ordered at a Russian restaurant in Beijing. In the center of the plate lay a whole large potato, very intricately decorated. Tasty and beautiful!