A member of the visiting group of 32 diplomats from 26 countries tours a chicken-processing factory in Shandong province on Nov 17. [Xinhua]

Exports of agricultural products from Shandong, the largest agriculture-exporting province in the country, are expected to reach $16 billion this year, up by 20 percent over the previous year, thanks to the country's constant efforts to ensure food safety.

The information was released by Wei Chuanzhong, deputy head of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, during a visit with some foreign diplomats to Shandong to inspect China's agricultural food safety situation.

Wei said the administration chose to visit Shandong because the province, with its advanced experience in the planting and processing of agricultural products, leads the country's food safety management.

Wei said the trip, which ended on the weekend and attracted 32 diplomats from 26 countries such as the United States and Japan, offered the delegation a straightforward impression and a better understanding of how China ensures food safety.

The reputation of made-in-China products, particularly food products, had been greatly harmed by the dairy scandal in 2008, in which melamine-tainted baby formula killed at least six babies and made another 300,000 sick, and the alleged toxic dumpling case in the same year, in which about 10 people in Japan reportedly fell ill after eating frozen insecticide-contaminated dumplings made in North China's Hebei province.

Shandong's agricultural exports had also been affected by these incidents, but the situation has recovered, thanks to the improved management and supervision by the country and the province to ensure food safety.

According to the general administration, Shandong, whose agricultural exports make up a quarter of the country's total, had exported $13.4 billion worth of agricultural products in the first 10 months of this year, surpassing last year's total of $13.1 billion.