Four years ago, Daniel You went to a Shanghai Carrefour supermarket to look at how organic products were selling.
The deputy general manager of Shanghai E-solution Agricultural Technology Co Ltd (SEAT), a Sino-Germany joint venture company, was disappointed with what he saw.
No one was showing any interest, except for a couple who bought a potato for their son, even though it was too expensive for them.
"I felt really down. I couldn't help wondering if it was worth getting involved in the business," You recalled.
But he is glad to see more and more people are now familiar with, and readily buy, the products.
The business is indeed on the rise. SEAT reported a total turnover of nearly US$2 million last year, an annual growth of about 20 per cent.
Four types of vegetables are found in China: normal vegetables, harmless vegetables, green vegetables and organic vegetables. (See sidebar on Page 5 for definitions.)
All vegetables, except for organic ones, are grown with the use of fertilizers and pesticides.
The current sale of organic products accounts for 4 per cent of the vegetable market in Shanghai.
The organic food industry took root in the country in 2000, and about 33 national production bases have been set up.
The main products include vegetables, tea, rice, fruits and honey.
According to Xinhua News Agency, the value of organic output in China last year rocketed to 3 billion yuan (US$375 million) from virtually nothing a few years earlier.
In particular, organic food exports were valued at US$200 million.
However, organic food only accounts for 0.02 per cent of the domestic market at the moment, while the figure in developed countries is about 2 per cent.
In the shade of a greenhouse at SEAT, green water spinach is ripe and ready for harvest, although a few of the leaves have been chewed by worms.
"Organic products don't look as appealing as normal vegetables, which are barely affected by worms due to the use of pesticides," said You.
"The weeds growing beside the organic vegetables also prove no pesticides are used," he added.
According to You, farming organic vegetables requires at least four times as much labour as other vegetables. And the growing period is more than double that of normal vegetables.
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