Henan food industry sees 1t yuan output

By transforming and upgrading its agricultural product processing industry, Henan province is nurturing a modern food industry cluster of more than 1 trillion yuan ($137 billion) in output, a local official said.

Wang Junzhong, deputy director of the province's agriculture and rural affairs department, said the agricultural product processing industry is a pillar of Henan's economy, with a total of 6,103 agricultural product processing enterprises that each earn over 20 million yuan in annual revenue as of October this year.

He said Henan has been promoting the development of four key industry chains, including cold chain food, leisure food, alcohol and beverages and prefabricated meals, resulting in the rise of a large number of industry leaders.

"The province is evolving from the 'nation's granary' to the 'nation's kitchen' and the 'world's dining table'," Wang said, adding that the locally produced agricultural products are exported to 140 countries and regions around the world.

The Henan-based Xinxiang Qianwei Central Kitchen Food Co Ltd, a pioneer in the country that specializes in providing customized and standardized quick-frozen food for catering businesses, has become a major supplier for top catering enterprises such as Yum China, Wallace and ZKungfu.

Sun Jian, chairman of the company, said the franchise rate of catering brands in China is increasing year by year, but it's still only around 20 percent, far below the 50 percent in developed countries, providing a huge opportunity for the catering ingredient supply chain.

The company's several products, including youtiao (fried dough sticks), sesame balls, cartoon buns, and egg tarts, each generate annual sales exceeding 100 million yuan, he said.

Sun said his company plans to seek further growth in the field of prefabricated dishes and expand its presence in the consumer market through online channels.

The Jiaozuo, Henan-based Daka International Food Co Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MIXUE Ice Cream & Tea, is one of China's largest beverage supply chain service providers, with an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tons.

It currently serves over 30,000 beverage stores and restaurants, with a main business revenue of 13.75 billion yuan last year, the company said.