Fuling Zhacai group’s tremendous agricultural impact
Seamlessly uniting culture with technology
Ancient culinary culture and agriculture form the foundation for modern, inclusive success.
In China’s Chongqing megacity, the Fuling Zhacai group is famous in the pickled vegetable business. Last week, group president Zhao Ping shared insights and details about this formidable agri-business, which seamlessly unites ancient Chinese culinary culture with ultra-modern technology to provide a range of beloved consumables and income opportunities to one million rural farmers.Fuling Zhacai is an agricultural product company which produced over 180 000 tonnes of assorted products, registering a value of three billion yuan (N$7.5 billion), while exports earn the organisation profits and taxes of one billion yuan (N$2.5 billion), he said.
“We have over 3 000 dealerships in all provinces of China. Our products have been exported to over 80 countries around the world where they are favoured by some foreign friends and overseas Chinese,” he elaborated.
“As we are a very important agricultural company, we can promote rural revitalisation.” According to Zhao, through the company’s efforts, it also increases farmers’ incomes.
From handmade to automated
Residents of the Fuling district of Chongqing have perfected the art of pickling vegetables since 213 AD, and this long history continues with the current group of companies claiming 70 years of success since inception.
Currently, only 12 workers are employed in the highly automated production plant, since its transformation from handmade to automated and intelligent manufacturing.
One day of production can see up to 10 000 packets of pickled vegetables packaged, and almost 50 000 over a seven-day period. This equates to 800 000 packages of pickled products a year.
“We have increased the incomes of over 600 000 rural farmers”, who are employed to work on over 700 000 hectares planted to supply the endevour, the company president said. Various employment opportunities for over a million rural farmers are created through the need of inputs and thanks to Fuling’s important position on the logistical gateways that converge in Chongqing.
International logistics gateway
Chongqing, with its population of over 32 million people, rises on the banks of the mighty Yangtze River, where it meets the Jialing River and also the Wujiang River. The metropolis of mountains and rivers stretches over 82 400 square kilometres, of which about 71% is urbanised. It is at the heart of the Belt and Road initiative, connecting the Yangtze golden waterway and the Chinese coastal megacities in the east with the China-Europe Railway Express to Germany, the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor and the Chongqing Manzhouli-Russia railway freight route. Trade with 224 countries is possible from Chongqing - efficient, effective, real.
Apart from being an international logistics gateway in inland China, Chongqing is an industrial powerhouse, among the top in the country for automotive production, new energy vehicles, smart technology, life sciences, new materials and green and low-carbon technologies. It is the world’s largest producer of laptop computers.
In 2023, Chongqing’s gross domestic product (GDP) reached 3.01 trillion yuan (N$7.6 trillion), growing at 6.1%, while larger value-added industries grew 6.6%, fixed asset investment grew 4.3% and total sales of consumer goods grew 8.6%. The general public budget revenue increased by 16%, and per capita disposable income for all residents increased by 5.4%.