China’s agriculture is shifting from “product export” to “system going global”

On October 17th, the audience visited and purchased premium brands in the exhibition area of the 22nd China International Agricultural Products Fair. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun FanyueOn October 17th, the audience visited and purchased premium brands in the exhibition area of the 22nd China International Agricultural Products Fair. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue

At the 22nd China International Agricultural Products Fair held in Tianjin, Xiao Bo, Chairman of Xinfeng Zhengda Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., peeled and cut Gannan navel oranges, and invited the audience to taste them. On the exhibition stand, there is a dazzling array of deep processed products such as navel orange wine, navel orange tea, and navel orange slices.

We have launched a series of high value-added products around Ganzhou navel oranges, which have been exported to Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, South Korea and other places. In the future, we will also enter markets such as Japan and the United Arab Emirates, “said Xiao Bo confidently.

Hu Bingbing, Director of the Agricultural Trade and Policy Research Office at the Institute of Rural Development, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that in recent years, China’s agricultural product exports have been developing towards branding, finished products, and high-end products.

The person in charge of Shaanxi Ruijie Ecological Technology Development Co., Ltd. told reporters that the company has more than 10 apple varieties, among which three or four high-quality varieties such as “Ruixue” are exported in the form of high-end gift boxes, and overseas sales continue to rise.

The branding and high-end strategy is helping Chinese agricultural products to enter the world with a higher quality image. In addition to end products, the full chain agricultural service system from breeding, planting to management is also accelerating the pace of “going global”.

On October 17th, the audience visited the agricultural science and technology exhibition area of the 22nd China International Agricultural Products Fair. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun FanyueOn October 17th, the audience visited the agricultural science and technology exhibition area of the 22nd China International Agricultural Products Fair. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue

The Chinese agricultural machinery export market continues to maintain strong growth this year. According to Chinese customs data, the total import and export volume of agricultural machinery and components in China reached 9.98 billion US dollars in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 21.5%. Compared to the same period last year, the growth rate increased by 22.09 percentage points. Among them, exports amounted to 9.305 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 26.5%.

Zhang Zhanjun, Senior Manager of Hebei Region of China Yituo Group Co., Ltd., said, “From the first ‘Dongfanghong’ tractor being produced offline to now using intelligent agricultural machinery to support the development of smart agriculture in China, China Yituo has continued to make breakthroughs in technology.” China Yituo exported nearly 8000 tractors for foreign trade in 2024, and is expected to exceed 10000 this year.

At the agricultural technology exhibition area of the Agricultural Fair, several biologically bred corn and soybean plants attracted a lot of attention. Experts say that they have excellent insect and herbicide resistance traits and grow vigorously.

Zhang Jingying, Director of the President’s Office of Beijing Dabeinong Biotechnology Co., Ltd., told reporters that they have been engaged in South American business since 2013, and currently multiple bio breeding soybean products have obtained local government planting licenses.

On October 17th, the audience visited the Thailand booth as the guest of honor at the exhibition. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun FanyueOn October 17th, the audience visited the Thailand booth as the guest of honor at the exhibition. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue

While actively expanding outward, Chinese agriculture also emphasizes deep cultivation inward. The “Tianjin Jilin Guangdong Deepening Inter provincial Cooperation and Exchange Initiative” released at this year’s Agricultural Fair proposes to further improve cooperation mechanisms, promote coordinated development of regional agriculture, and jointly explore new paths and models for cross regional coordinated development of agriculture.

With the development of the digital economy, China’s agriculture going global is achieving an innovative leap from a single product to a systematic service.

Since its establishment, Nongxin Digital Intelligence Group has been committed to integrating technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data, and artificial intelligence with agriculture, providing the industry with digital services that integrate software, hardware, and intelligence. The digital ecological platform for the entire pig industry chain they launched has achieved full process digital control from breeding production, enterprise management to supply chain collaboration.

The company is building a data-driven global smart agriculture service platform, integrating resources, and exporting innovative solutions for Chinese agriculture, “said Yu Ying, Vice President of Agricultural Credit Information Technology Group

From primary agricultural products to high-end branded products, from single products to full chain systems, the breadth and depth of China’s agriculture going global continue to expand.

Hu Bingbing said, “In the future, the application scenarios and value creation of agriculture going abroad will surely exceed our imagination today