The Fifth International Fruit and Vegetable Expo opened yesterday in this coastal city in East China's Shandong Province, attracting more than 30,000 participants from home and abroad.

"The event is expected to greatly promote the re-construction of agricultural sector and facilitate industrialization and standardization of agriculture,'' said Shen Guofang, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, on the opening ceremony. "It will also speed up disseminating advanced agricultural processing technologies.''

The expo includes exhibitions, symposiums and trade talks on fruit and vegetable development. Participants from 30 countries and regions are attending the expo, including the United States, Canada, France, Italy, Russia, Germany, Britain, Japan and Norway.

"This expo provides opportunities for economic and technical co-operation as well as trade negotiations, and is an arena for the development of fruit and vegetable industry. We hope members and members designate of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), government officers, and guests from science, industry and commercial fields can take advantage of this opportunity for further co-operation and friendship,'' said Ravi Ratnayake, director of the UNESCAP Trade and Investment Division.

Many participants take part in the expo each year.

"We are here with a large group from our company, and the Yantai Expo' has become an import platform for us to promote our products to China,'' said Miles Harriman, information manager from Norsk Hydro of Norway, one of the largest fertilizer producers in Europe.

The city of Yantai produces more than 3 million tons of fruit and 3.5 million tons of vegetables a year, with a value of 5.1 billion yuan (US$616 million) and 2.5 billion yuan (US$302 million) respectively.

As the largest fruit and vegetable producing city in China, Yantai is now one of the largest farm produce bases for Japan and South Korea.

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