COFCO ups quality while eyeing growth in tomato processing

China's continued use of traditional farming methods is one of the reasons for problems in food quality, said Qin Yelong, general manager of COFCO Tunhe Co Ltd, a subsidiary of China's largest grain product processor and food manufacturer COFCO Group.

"Chinese agriculture is largely small-scale, family-based peasant farming, which makes it difficult to control the quality of produce," Qin told China Daily at the 10th World Tomato Processing Congress that opened on June 10.

"The future of Chinese agriculture should be larger in scale and use higher technologies to attract more investors, introduce better growing methods and improve quality," he said.

He also noted that the "situation is improving" as supervision tightens.

COFCO Tunhe is China's largest beet sugar producer and one of the leading tomato processors in the world. It now has 54 production lines for tomato products in 23 factories across the nation that together have the capacity to process 70,000 tons of fresh tomatoes daily.

The company has a complete industrial chain that has quality controls in every step from seed development to planting, processing and packaging.

"This strategy not only helps us meet different requirements of diverse customers, but also improves safety of products," said the general manager. "Both the products and the processes are safe."

COFCO Tunhe has introduced international approaches by establishing partnerships with other agricultural companies and bought its own farms to grow tomatoes. It has also founded nationally leading labs and testing centers to guarantee quality.

In addition to developing high-yield tomato breeds, the company is increasing its use of eco-friendly technologies, including water-saving irrigation, Qin said.

Most Chinese people first tasted ketchup only "in recent decades after McDonald's opened its first restaurant on the Chinese mainland in the early 1990s", said COFCO Chairman Ning Gaoning.

"Everyone tried to figure out what it was," said Ning.

But today China's tomato processing industry is growing fast, with 6.8 million tons of tomatoes processed last year. More than 1 million tons of tomato paste were exported in 2011, making China the world's top exporter and the third-largest producer following the United States and the European Union.

Exports account for more than 80 percent of China's tomato products, Qin said, as most Chinese still prefer fresh tomatoes.

But recent market research shows "inspiring" results that the domestic market for processed tomato products has grown at an average annual rate of 15 percent over the last three years, said Qin.

"COFCO Tunhe has a clear orientation and good, diversified client base," he said. "We are also a world leader in introducing better tomato breeds to improve efficiency."

"But on the other hand, the quality and price of tomatoes is more difficult to control in China than in the US or Europe, which will be a future challenge for the company," he added.

zhangzhao@chinadaily.com.cn