Organic farming grips China

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7012056.stm

Thursday, 4 October 2007, 23:26 GMT 00:26 UK

 

Organic farming grips China

By Juliana Liu

Business reporter, BBC News, Yanqing, China

 

Cows at Green Yard, one of China's first organic

dairies, enjoy a pampered life in the country. They

take daily strolls in the pasture. For a morning

snack, the cows graze on grass untouched by

pesticides.

 

When it's time for a more filling meal, they dine on

organic hay from Inner Mongolia, or perhaps sweetcorn,

grown right on the farm. When they get sick, they take

only traditional Chinese medicine.

 

The man behind Green Yard is Wang Zhanli, a farmer

born in Yanqing, about two hours' drive from Beijing.

He persuaded 50 of his neighbours to invest in his

business.

 

Mr Wang had initially started a traditional dairy, but

his small farm was no match for mass-market brands

such as Mengniu Dairy, based in Inner Mongolia.

 

About three years ago, he decided to make the switch

to producing organic dairy products, because he could

charge more.

 

" Nowadays, what we eat is important, " he said. " It's

important to eat food that is good for you. A lot of

farmers in China use too many pesticides.

 

" I got into this business because I thought the dairy

market would take off. It's hard to succeed in the

mass market, but we're selling a better product. "

 

Green Yard's product costs two to three times more

than regular milk. With only 600 cows, the dairy

supplies a small market in Beijing, but the company is

keen to grow.

 

It may be at least another year before the dairy

covers its initial investment.

 

Awareness low

 

Small volume and high growth sums up China's nascent,

and still tiny, organic market. Most of the country's

organic products are sold overseas to Japan, Taiwan

and other Asian countries.

 

Official figures show organic exports totalled $350m

in 2005, up from $150m from 2004. China has about 5.7

million acres of certified organic farmland, behind

only Australia and Argentina worldwide.

 

Green Yard's Mr Wang says much more needs to be done

to raise awareness of organic food in China.

 

Many people are unsure about the differences between

organic and so-called " green food " , which has been

promoted as an alternative to organic.

 

In a country where fakes abound, many consumers are

wary of paying top dollar for food that may not

actually be organic.

 

Still, domestic sales grew about 50% last year, though

the vast majority of Chinese simply can't afford to

buy organic.

 

Dr Eva Sternfeld, of the China Environment and

Sustainable Development Research Centre, says frequent

media reports about tainted food are driving the

market.

 

" From my German experience, I would say China is maybe

20 years behind, " she said. " But our experience shows

us also that China is developing very fast, so it

might only take five or 10 years before China catches

up. "