In recent years, a number of business celebrities have ventured into agriculture. Chu Shijian, former chairman of Hongta Group, grew “inspirational oranges”; Liu Chuanzhi, chairman of Legend Holdings, began selling “conscience fruit”; Liu Qiangdong, CEO of JD.com, started selling self-grown organic rice; and Wang Jianlin, chairman of Wanda Group, also enclosed 5,700 mu of land in Yanqing, Beijing, to build an organic agricultural park... Among these agricultural products, “organic” has become a major selling point.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11450/
China's organic agriculture started in the 1980s. With the enhancement of people's awareness of environmental protection and health, the concept of organic food has gained popularity. Since 2000, the organic food industry has developed rapidly. In recent years, frequent food safety incidents have made “organic food,” which advertises a pollution-free, contaminant-free, and purely natural production process, a favorite in the market.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11450/
Data from the Ministry of Agriculture show that the global organic food market is currently growing at a rate of 20% to 30%. At present, China has about 50 major categories and 400 to 500 varieties of organic and organic conversion food (organic conversion food refers to products produced during the period from the start of organic management to the obtaining of organic certification — editor's note).文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11450/
Data from the industry research and consulting agency CIC Consultant show that the global market sales of organic products in 2012 exceeded US$60 billion, mainly concentrated in Europe and North America. Nearly 60% of the organic food gap in developed countries is filled by imports from developing countries, among which Argentina accounts for 70% of the organic food exported to developed countries. At present, China's consumption of organic food is growing at an annual rate of 30% to 50%, with a perennial shortage of 30%.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11450/
Although people have broad demand for green and healthy food, limited by purchasing power, the logistics system, and sales channels, organic food is difficult to popularize rapidly. According to calculations by a reporter from Southern Metropolis Daily, if one wanted to consume only organic food, the monthly food expense would be more than 1,800 yuan. Industry insiders said that at present, most organic food in China's food market comes from retail channels such as Carrefour, Sam's, and Walmart. The cost of organic food is too high, and combined with expenses in production, management, logistics, and warehousing, this has greatly increased the circulation cost of organic food.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11450/
The "Analysis of the Current Market Situation of China's Organic Food Industry" released by AskCI Consulting shows that at present, the regions in China with relatively high attention to organic food are mainly first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11450/
Domestic consumers' understanding of the concept of organic food is not yet very clear, and green food, pollution-free food, and organic food are often confused with one another. At high prices, whether organic food is merely a hype gimmick or truly superior to foods of other grades leaves many consumers confused.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11450/
On the basis of green food and pollution-free food, organic food also requires natural production, processing, and transportation processes. Qin Haiyuan, director of the Food Testing Teaching and Research Section of Guangxi Agricultural Vocational and Technical College, pointed out that organic agriculture emphasizes harmony between humanity and nature, attaches importance to environmental protection and ecological balance, and emphasizes sustainable development.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11450/
Due to the high production costs and certification standards of organic food, actual output is not large. A China News Service report in December 2011 pointed out that as of September 2011, China had issued only 6,400 organic product certifications, with 660,000 hectares of certified organic product planting area and 890,000 hectares of wild collection area.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11450/
The shortage of organic food has given rise to a gray interest chain in the industry, leading to frequent problems in the organic food industry such as chaotic price labeling and lax certification. On the eve of the 2013 Spring Festival, the core raw material for Kweichow Moutai brewing was exposed as “fake organic”; at the end of 2011, organic vegetables sold at high prices in some large supermarkets in Jinan, Shandong, were exposed as having used chemical pesticides and fertilizers in the production process. In the early stage of the organic food industry's development, similar phenomena led to consumers' distrust of organic food, affected the credibility of the entire organic food industry, and restricted the expansion of the organic food market.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11450/
According to statistics from the U.S. Organic Trade Association, in 2011, U.S. organic food sales accounted for 4.2% of all food sales, and 70% of Americans had consumed organic food. However, the "2010-2015 China Organic Food Market Investment Analysis and Prospect Forecast Report" released by CIC Consultant shows that the proportion of China's organic food in the market share of the entire food industry is estimated to be less than 1%.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11450/
At present, organic food certification standards in European and American countries are generally stricter than those in China. Successive food safety problems, as well as Chinese food exports encountering green trade barriers, have prompted the state to continuously strengthen the regulation of organic food certification activities. As early as 2004, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine issued the "Measures for the Administration of Organic Product Certification." In April 2014, the revised "Measures" will be officially implemented.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11450/
In 2011, the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China revised the "Implementation Rules for Organic Product Certification" and formulated the "Catalog of Organic Product Certification." The new rules require that when all organic food is put on the market, in addition to affixing organic certification labels and certification unit information on the smallest independent package, an organic traceability code must also be attached. At the same time, the number of organic product certification bodies in China was reduced from the original 36 to 23, ensuring the level of product testing.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11450/
In the past two years, the rise of agricultural e-commerce has once again injected vitality into the organic food industry. Zhou Siran, a food industry researcher at CIC Consultant, believes that JD.com's sale of self-grown organic rice means that organic food has surpassed previous terminal sales channels such as organic retail stores and high-end food supermarkets, broadened sales channels, and is conducive to the future promotion and development of organic food.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11450/
He pointed out that for organic food to achieve sustained, healthy, and rapid development, first, certification bodies should strengthen the effectiveness of certification and enhance supervision over certified enterprises; second, consumers should improve their understanding of organic food, strengthen the improvement of their own knowledge system, and actively report and expose violations; third, the media and the force of public opinion should strengthen supervision of the organic food industry. In addition to publicizing its benefits, more importantly, they should teach consumers how to choose compliant certified food; fourth, the state should vigorously support organic food enterprises, cultivate nationally renowned brands, and give play to their exemplary and leading role.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11450/
Reprinted from China Youth Daily. 文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11450/