Horticulture in China will continue to grow. That's one thing Huang Fushui, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chinese greenhouse company Hongfu Group, is assured of. However, company's need to adopt a strategy to ensure there production is affordable, stable and available to develop the market, he says.
In the previous article, we invited Mr. Huang Fushui, to share the development status of protected horticulture in China and the industrial layout of Hongfu Agriculture. In this part of the article, more thoughts have been given on how modern industrial parks can achieve sustainable development.
Cherry tomatoes
"We have a positive attitude towards the development of China's high-end vegetable market", Huang says. "With the development of China's economy, consumers are pursuing novel, safe, and high-quality food and vegetables, which is especially prominent in China's largest cities, with high consumption power. Taking tomatoes as an example, surveys in some fresh supermarkets in Beijing and Shanghai show that the display rate of cherry tomatoes is higher than that of large and medium-sized tomatoes, and their price is also higher than that of large and medium-sized tomatoes. Small tomatoes are generally sold as high-end snacks among the crowd."
Hongfu Group is strengthening their presence in smaller cities, gradually developing the wholesale market while supplying high-end supermarkets. "In the future, with the gradual expansion of our base, we will also be able to export crops to Southeast Asia and other markets."
"As far as seeds are concerned, most high-end vegetable seeds still rely on imports, and some domestic seed companies are also growing rapidly. In addition to imported seeds, we are also actively keeping in touch with some experts from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences to continue to enrich our products."
Large modern parks allow higher crop yields and better quality, effectively improving food safety, but at the same time bringing higher operating costs. According to Huang, the quality of the produce is of vital importance to ensure a long-term succes. "The foundation of our products lies in quality. Without excellent product quality, it is difficult to form a solid brand reputation", he says. "Hongfu Agriculture is committed to building a high-end brand in the field of fruits and vegetables in China and insists on a strategy based on a stable production, high quality and marketable, thanks to controllable costs."
Marketable
Being 'marketable' requires agricultural products to continuously develop markets and realize market value based on their own quality. 'Hongfu Persimmon' tomatoes are now sold in nearly 3,000 supermarkets across the country, directly supplying high-end supermarkets such as Metro, Carrefour, AEON, and Hema Fresh. They have been put on sale on the high-speed rail, including in the Greater Bay Area market, and haveachieved a good reputation."
"The 'Stable supply' is to ensure the production safety of crops, to achieve the stability of 'quality' in production and the stability of 'quantity' in supply. The company's agriculture base applies modern greenhouse technology to refine, digitize, and intelligently control the cultivated products to achieve stable, year round production. This includes coping with extreme environments and natural disasters such as typhoons, heavy rains, extreme heat, and extreme cold."
Huang adds the company also tries to avoid putting too many products on the market when the market is oversupplied and prices drop. "We also avoid the agricultural output vacuum period affecting market sales and channel stability so as to achieve a full-year supply chain in all links of 'supply end-sales channel-market end' with uninterrupted positive interaction."
"'Cost controllable' means that the production of agricultural products and the sustainable development of enterprises should face the market, realize the balance and controllability of operating costs and economic output, and calculate the cost well in the operation - or to say it simple, ensuring the products are affordable by operating as efficient as possible.
For example, the Wulanchabu Hongfu Agricultural Modern Industrial Park uses the waste heat of local heavy industrial wastewater to heat the greenhouse, effectively reducing the cost of heating energy. The remaining cold water from agricultural heating can also be fed back to cool down the industrial project. Through the circulation of hot industrial wastewater and cold agricultural wastewater, a circular economy that complements industry and agriculture is developed. While reducing the cost of waste heat treatment, it also realizes the high efficiency of agricultural heating and double win of economic and social benefits."
The combination of agriculture and tourisme is well-known in China. Also the Hongfu Group owns a cultural tourism brand, and a health and elderly care brand that has been in operation for many years. "We have been making related attempts to combine agriculture and tourism. Taking advantage of our own resources, in Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Hainan, and Dali, Yunnan, we contribute to the local people's poverty alleviation and realize a new model of combining agriculture, culture, and tourism by promoting the adjustment of the agricultural industry structure in China and driving the development of tourism agriculture."
For more information:
Hongfu Group
Email: hongfujituan@hongfujituan.com
www.hongfujituan.com
