Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação Lisbon, January ,5/3,5 CM The Realities of the Agro-Food Sector in People’s Republic of China ChinaAgroPlat Workshop

1,6/1,6 cm The Realities of the Agro-Food Sector in People’s Republic of China January 2006 Agenda 1/1  I. History  II. Current Status  III. Administrative System  IV. Legislative Regulation  V. Regulating Standards

1,6/1,6 cm The Realities of the Agro-Food Sector in People’s Republic of China January 2006 I. History  Overview

1,6/1,6 cm The Realities of the Agro-Food Sector in People’s Republic of China January 2006 I. History Overview  From 1949 to 1979: Fruit and vegetable products were limited in the Chinese market.  Late 1970’s: Implementation of economic reforms.  1980s: Reforms and open policy gave farmers the freedom to choose the crops and plants they wanted to cultivate.  1990’s: Most of the Chinese fruit and vegetable manufacturers started their businesses - e.g. Enzyme application, ultra filtration, activated carbon absorption, recovery of natural fruit aromas, etc.  Last 20 years: Shift in policies for agriculture and agricultural trade including: - Less government intervention - Increased role of market forces

1,6/1,6 cm The Realities of the Agro-Food Sector in People’s Republic of China January 2006 II. Current Status  Current Status of China’s Agro-Food Sector  China’s Agro-Food Sector Profile  China’s Meat Industry

1,6/1,6 cm The Realities of the Agro-Food Sector in People’s Republic of China January 2006 II. Current Status Current Status of China’s Agro-Food Sector  Growing demand for more and higher quality food products.  Fruit and Vegetables are key sectors.  2003: Output of fruit was more than 70 million tons and 450 million tons of vegetables were produced.  2004: China's agricultural exports totaled an estimated US $26 billion and its agricultural imports totaled US $16 billion.

1,6/1,6 cm The Realities of the Agro-Food Sector in People’s Republic of China January 2006 Current Status of China’s Agro-Food Sector II. Current Status  Major crops and products (by order of importance): rice, wheat, potatoes, corn, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, apples, cotton, oilseed, pork, fish.  In 2003 China fed 20% of the world's population on 7% of the world's arable land.  China has achieved its major target of ensuring sufficient food production at the national level.

1,6/1,6 cm The Realities of the Agro-Food Sector in People’s Republic of China January 2006 II. Current Status Current Status of China’s Agro-Food Sector  In 2004 the enlarged European Union became China’s biggest trading partner.  Main import trading partners: Japan, Taiwan, US and Germany.  Main export trading partners: US, Japan, South Korea and Germany.

1,6/1,6 cm The Realities of the Agro-Food Sector in People’s Republic of China January 2006 II. Current Status China’s Agro-Food Sector Profile  Total Chinese fresh egg production in 2003 accounted for 40% of the total world volume.  In 2003, China became the largest exporter of tomato paste by quantity.  China is the third largest frozen strawberry exporter in the world.

1,6/1,6 cm The Realities of the Agro-Food Sector in People’s Republic of China January 2006 II. Current Status China’s Agro-Food Sector Profile  The export volume of dehydrated vegetables increases yearly by 30%, which is about 2/3 of the total world export volume.  China is the biggest mushroom producer, exporter and consumer in the world.  China’s annual mushroom production is 80,000 tons, which accounts for 80% of the world production.

1,6/1,6 cm The Realities of the Agro-Food Sector in People’s Republic of China January 2006 II. Current Status China’s Meat Industry  China is the second largest poultry producer, accounting for 18% of the world’s output. Poultry is China’s most important item among all its meat exports.  With a pork output of 44 million tons in 2002, China produces close to half of the world’s pork.  China is the largest mutton producer in the world with an output of 3 million tons in 2001.

1,6/1,6 cm The Realities of the Agro-Food Sector in People’s Republic of China January 2006 III. Administrative System  Agencies that Oversee China’s Agro-Food Sector

1,6/1,6 cm The Realities of the Agro-Food Sector in People’s Republic of China January 2006 III. Administrative System Agencies that Oversee China’s Agro-Food Sector 1. State Food and Drug Administration: Responsible for general food safety issues. Drafts regulations and laws related to food. Supervises publication of food safety information and other relevant activities Ministry of Health: Responsible for legislation on food hygiene standards. Drafts, edits and updates national food hygiene standards Ministry of Agriculture: Responsible for implementing the quality supervision of Agro-food and Green Food.

1,6/1,6 cm The Realities of the Agro-Food Sector in People’s Republic of China January 2006 IV. Legislative Regulation  Food Hygiene Law Principles  Food Hygiene Law Requirements

1,6/1,6 cm The Realities of the Agro-Food Sector in People’s Republic of China January 2006 IV. Legislative Regulation Food Hygiene Law Principles The Food Hygiene Law is a good illustration of the underlying legislative principles of the laws governing China’s Agro-Food Sector.  Principle of Supervision by Government: The government establishes a system of food hygiene supervision.  Principle of Thorough Supervision: Any person and organizations engaged in food production or marketing within the territory of P.R.C must obey this Law.  Principle of Supervision by Society: The government encourages and protects the social supervision on food hygiene exercised by public organizations and individuals.

1,6/1,6 cm The Realities of the Agro-Food Sector in People’s Republic of China January 2006 IV. Legislative Regulation Food Hygiene Law Requirements  The qualified Food should be non-toxic and harmless, conform to proper nutritional requirements and have appropriate sensory properties such as colour, fragrance and flavour.  Special requirements for infants and pre-school age children.  Food must not contain any medicinal substances, with the exception of those materials that traditionally serve as food and medicine or are used as raw materials, condiments or for nutritional value.

1,6/1,6 cm The Realities of the Agro-Food Sector in People’s Republic of China January 2006 V. Regulating Standards  Chinese Food Certification System  Challenges for Improvement

1,6/1,6 cm The Realities of the Agro-Food Sector in People’s Republic of China January 2006 V. Regulating Standards  Organic Food: The Organic Food system is regulated by the State Environment Protection Administration. In 1995, it established the “Rules of Organic Food Labelling” and the “Technical Code of Organic Food Production and Processing”.  Non-environmental Pollution Food: Non-environmental Pollution Food is produced according to corresponding technique standards. The Non-environmental Pollution Food is certified and regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture. Chinese Food Certification System  Green Food: Regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture. The “Green Food” logo (to the right) is printed on the package of food certified as “Green Food”.

1,6/1,6 cm The Realities of the Agro-Food Sector in People’s Republic of China January 2006 V. Regulating Standards Challenges for Improvement  Compared with other developed countries, current Chinese legislation systems related to food safety are neither systematic nor comprehensive.  Several ministries and agencies share the responsibility of standardized regulation, which leads to inconsistencies, ambiguities, and incompatibilities for the Agro-food Sector in China.

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