The Chinese are increasingly exchanging their rice for chips and the government is actively encouraging potato cultivation. Almost all major processors now have a production location in China. Despite the favorable prospects, growth is slowing down.
Economically speaking, China is doing well and as a result the demand for chips is increasing; especially on the east coast, western eating habits are rapidly emerging. The modern Chinese likes to eat chips not only at the well-known chains, but also in trendy eateries and at home the product is often on the menu.
Compared to production in China, processing remains a modest activity. With a production of 97 million tons (on 5,8 million hectares), China is by far the largest potato producing country. It even has the ambition to ramp up that production. Alliances with foreign potato companies therefore receive all the support. The Chinese government is also investing in projects that disseminate knowledge about cultivation.
Hotspot: Inner Mongolia
The processing industry has settled in the north of China, with Inner Mongolia as the hotspot. The land is relatively flat, the ground is light and there are plenty of irrigation options. The growing season runs parallel to that of northwestern Europe and, if irrigated, an excellent yield is possible.
McCain was the first foreign processor to venture to China in 2004, now followed by all the big names. Aviko doubled the capacity this year to 100.000 tons per year and Farm Frites is about to bake its first Chinese fries. As it looks now, the processing line will be up and running in the first quarter of 2019. That is slightly later than planned, but still in time for the processing of the first crop.
- Corne Kempenaar
Catching up
When we look at the sales opportunities, there is ample room for further growth. The biggest limiting factor, however, remains the supply of raw materials. "Potato cultivation is lagging far behind in terms of knowledge and technology and that is not changing very quickly, apart from the real predecessors," says Kempenaar.
From a cultivation-technical point of view, most companies (on almost all fronts) still have to make significant strides: in the quality of the starting material, the tillage, disease control and the correct use of the mechanization. Just providing the knowledge is not enough, because the communist past inhibits developments.
Fly in knowledge
Nevertheless, a professionalization is emerging. For example, APH Group, which has already won several mega orders for the delivery of machines in the past 10 years, is getting more and more work on aftercare. "What surprises me is that the turnover in spare parts is increasing. After all, the Chinese make everything. However, because of the quality they still want to have original parts in stock", says Johan Kikstra, general manager at APH Group.
The forerunners have a growing hunger for knowledge. For example, Agrifirm is exploring the opportunities for cultivation supervision and WUR is also receiving more specific questions about 'Western know-how'. Kempenaar: "One of our customers wanted to know how to apply the app for site-specific haulm killing. It concerned a plot of 60 hectares of seed potatoes that really looked like a picture. These types of companies are the reason why we as WUR recently invested in global access to weather data."
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