THE STATUS OF ORGANIC POTATO PRODUCTION
IN CHINA

Dr Kaiyun Xie ^*

1. The concept of organic food and the classification of foods

Organic farming is defined as a production system that avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators, and livestock feed additives. To the maximum extent feasible, organic farming systems rely on crop rotations, crop residues, animal manures, legumes, green manures, off-farm organic wastes, mechanical cultivation, mineral-bearing rocks, natural pesticides and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and to supply plant nutrients, and to control insects, weeds and other pests. All these should be under conditions of sustainable natural resources utilization and a healthy environment.

The basic requirements for organic foods are: a) the environment (water, air and arable lands) should not be polluted; b) no synthetic materials should be used during the production; c) the production technologies should not be gene-modified technologies; d) pollution is avoided during processing, transportation, storage and distribution; and e) the necessary procedures for their certification and supervision are followed.

Based on the food production methods and the different product standards found in the country, the foods in China can be classified as follows: common food, non-polluted food, green food (A and AA), and organic food. With the exception of the common food, all kinds of foods should follow the required standards. Production and processing should be approved and certified by the relevant authorities. The quality of organic food is the highest among these foods.

2. The situation of organic food in China

Consumers can now easily buy organic foods (certified by relevant organizations) in the large cities of China, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Nanjing. The first organic farm and enterprise was approved by a foreign certification organization in 1990. After 20 years of progressive development, organic foods in China have become increasingly important. The areas of organic food production have been determined, such as the organic bean production area in Northeast China, the organic vegetable production area in Shandong, and the organic tea production area in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui and Jiangxi.

With improvements in the standard of living, Chinese consumers are paying more and more attention to food safety. Both non-polluted and green foods are now widely preferred by the consumers. This provides a conducive environment for the development of organic food in China. Up to the end of 2006, the total value of organic food sales reached 5.6 billion Yuan (US$800 million).

Though the total value is high, organic food accounts for about only 0.1 percent of the total food consumption, and this is far behind the 2 percent found in the developed countries, especially when compared to the 1.3 billion population and 2 820 Yuan (US$403) spent on food consumption per capita per year. So far, the main constraint on organic food production is the price. Compared to common products the cost of organic products is higher. This is understandable as the yield is lower. In the developed countries, the price of organic foods is about 30 percent higher than that of the common food. However, the price of organic foods in China is about three to five times higher.

The local market for organic food is increasing by 20 to 30 percent every year. In the meantime, the international demand for Chinese organic food is increasing year by year. The international market demand for Chinese organic food (including organic processed food) is very good; it includes organic rice, vegetables, tea, minor crops, tea oil, walnut oil, and honey. The export value of organic foods was about US$350 million in 2006; this is about 0.7 percent of the global value of organic foods in 2006. The good market demand and the higher prices encourage more and more farmers to produce organic food.

However, there are some constraints on organic food production in China, namely: a) the higher cost of investment; b) the already high and increasing cost of the certification organizations which are without uniform standards, labels and charges; c) lack of efficient management and supervision after certification; and d) difficulties for the grower to follow organic standards which are not uniform internationally.

Up to the end of 2006, about 2 300 enterprises received approval for organic food from 31 certification organizations. A total of 5.28 million ha of organic food production have been certified, and a total of 3.85 million tons of organic foods have been produced.

It is predicted that the increasing rate will be between 30 and 50 percent per year during the coming ten years; the proportion of organic foods will be 1 to 3 percent of the total planted area and production. The export of organic products will be about 5 percent of the total exported agricultural products. The proportion of Chinese organic food will be about 5 percent of the global organic food market. China will become the fourth country in terms of organic food consumption; the consumption of organic food will account for 1 to 1.5 percent of the total food consumption.

3. Potato production in China

The potato is the only crop which can be planted in all regions of China. There are four planting regions. These are: a) the single cropping region in North China, which includes the whole or part of the following subregions: Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang - these account for about 47 percent of the total planting area in China; b) the double cropping region in Central China, which includes the whole or part of the following subregions: Liaoning, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hubei, Hunan, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangxi - these account for about 7 percent of the total planting area; c) the double cropping region in South China, which includes the whole or part of the following subregions: Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, Fujian and Taiwan - these account for about 8 percent of the total planting area; and d) the mixed cropping region in Southwest China, which includes the whole or part of the following subregions: Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Chongqing, Tibet, Hubei and Hunan - these account for 38 percent of the total planting area.

In 2006, the actual planted area of potatoes was 5.34 million hectares in China. However the planted area was 5.02 million hectares according to Chinese official statistics (Table 1). Based on the FAO statistics, it was 4.90 million hectares, and this was about 26.14 percent of the total global planted area. The total production of potatoes in China was over 70 million tons and it accounts for 22.41 percent of the global potato production. The average yield of potatoes in China was 14.35 tons/ha, which was lower than the world average yield of 16.74 tons/ha.

The planted area has been increasing during the past ten years because of the important role of potatoes in food security, poverty alleviation and higher economic returns compared to other crops. In 2006, the planted area reached 5.02 million hectares (not including the planted areas in Shandong, Henan, Zhejiang and Guangxi). The actual planted area is over 530 hectares if we include the missing subregions.

Guizhou, Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Yunnan were the top four subregions in China in terms of planting area, and each of them covered more than 500 000 hectares in 2006.

In the subtropical and tropical regions from north latitude 33 degrees, there are about 30 million hectares of winter fallow paddy fields and a number of crops can be planted in the winter season, such as rapeseed, wheat, potatoes, minor grain crops, forage crops, melons and vegetables. As farmers can produce off-season potatoesin these regions, they can get much higher prices. As a consequence of this, the potato planted area is increasing year by year in these regions. For example, the potato planted area in the Guangxi Autonomous Region has increased from 30 000 hectares to 130 000 hectares in the last five years.

4. Organic potato production in China

The first organic potato enterprise was approved and certified in Heilongjiang. Now there are between 10 and 20 enterprises dealing with organic potato production and distribution in Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia and Gansu. Among the organic potato producing counties, Wuchuan County is the biggest organic potato producer in China.

Wuchuan County is located in the north part of the Yingshan Mountain. The cool weather, unpolluted water, sandy soils and the tradition of using organic fertilizers provided the possibility for the development of organic potatoes. So far, all the 60 000 hectares of potato fields have been certified for the production of organic potatoes. Organic food production started in the county in 2004. In 2006, the total organic food production area reached 2 530 hectares, with just under half of this amount, or 1 330 hectares, used for the production of organic potatoes.

4.1 Potential for organic potato production

4.1.1   Most of the potatoes are planted in pollution-free marginal regions

Most of the potatoes in China are planted in the marginal regions where industrialization is very limited and there are almost no modern enterprises. There are 592 national poverty counties in China and potatoes are planted in 429 of these. The total planted area of potatoes in these 429 counties accounts for 58.13 percent of the total planted area in China and the other 900 potato planted counties account for 41.87 percent. Because of the difficult economic conditions, farmers used few fertilizers and almost no pesticides.

4.1.2   The long history of organic fertilizer use in potato production

China is an agricultural country with a long history and farmers have the tradition of using organic fertilizers in agricultural production. Organic fertilizers dominated agricultural production in China before the twentieth century. Up to now, farmers are still using organic fertilizers in potato production in some marginal regions of China, and organic fertilizers account for a slightly higher proportion of total fertilizers used than chemical fertilizers.

4.1.3   The high financial benefit from organic potato production

The price of organic potatoes is between three to five times higher than that of normal potatoes. In the supermarkets, the price of normal potatoes is about 2 Yuan/kg whereas the price of organic potatoes is about 8 Yuan/kg. Though the cost of organic potato production is higher than the production of normal potatoes and the yield of organic potatoes is lower than the yield of normal potatoes, the financial benefit of organic potatoes is much higher than that of normal potatoes.

4.1.4   The large pollution-free areas facilitates the development of organic potato production

In the past ten years, with the action on pollution-free food and the development of green food, a number of lands (including arable lands and orchard lands) have been used for the production of pollution-free and green food. According to the statistics of the Green Food Management Centre (GFMC), the total land under its supervision was 9.97 million hectares at the end of 2006.

Rotation is necessary for potato production and organic potatoes should rotate with other organic crops, such as wheat, maize (in northern China) and rice (winter potatoes). Based on the data in Table 2, there were about 2.34 million hectares of organic grain crops in 2006. This land provides a good opportunity for organic potato production. In combination with organic rice production, the organic potato production in paddy fields in southern China has become more and more common. Covering it with rice straws has become a common way of potato cultivation. It is possible to grow potatoes by just putting seed potatoes on the top of the paddy soil, covering them with rice straw, and picking potatoes from a mulch of rice straw.

4.1.6 Availability of potato varieties with special traits will be helpful for the development of organic potato production

There are three major constraints on potato production in China: seed, late blight and drought. Most of the potato production regions suffer from late blight and drought. The chemical pesticides to control late blight are strictly forbidden in organic potato production and the late blight resistant varieties could be the best choice in this situation. In the marginal and dry regions with fresh air, healthy soils, but low rainfall, drought tolerant varieties could be the best choice.

4.1.7 Rapid economic development will stimulate the consumption of organic foods

In the past ten years, China has experienced rapid economic development with an annual growth rate of 7.6 percent to 11.9 percent; and the gross domestic product has tripled. The increase of incomes will help to expand the consumption of more expensive organic food, including organic potatoes.

4.2 Constraints on organic potato production

Though the potential for organic potato production is remarkable, there are several constraints which affect its development. For food security, the amount of food is more important than the quality of food; this is because of the continuing growth of the country’s population and the decrease of its arable land. Also, many people cannot afford to purchase organic potatoes because of the higher prices. The small scale of farming is another constraint on organic potato production.