Ministry of Agriculture sources are reporting 50 percent growth in "green food" exports every year since 1997. Over a fruitful period of development, exports have increased from 2.5 percent to 6.5 percent of output.

Technical standards have been established to quality assure the "green food" mark. They cover environmental standards, methods of production, quality systems, labelling, storage and transportation. Quality standards are every bit as rigorous as those of the European Union, United States and Japan. The AA green food standard in particular is commensurate with best international practice.

This has been a time of rapid development in those influences which have come together to provide the guarantee of quality. There have been advances in technology, marketing, dissemination of information, quality systems and in the legislation that created the environment in which all of this has taken place.

The benefits arising from the quality standards and branding have provided the green food industry with the prerequisite commercial strength necessary to secure investment in the technology for further expansion into the export market.

By 2001, as many as 2,400 green food branded items had been brought to market, an increase of 23 percent since 1998. This however represented a leap of no less than 140 percent to 20 million tons when viewed in terms of total output.

Also by 2001, sales revenues had broken the 50 billion yuan (US$6 billion) barrier, up 75 percent on 1998. Foreign exchange earnings were some US$400 million, up 500 percent on 1997.

(china.org.cn by Tang Fuchun August 26, 2002)