Figures from Fruit&VegetableFacts show that half of the global commercial production of fresh vegetables is harvested in China. This is at the same time that 22% of the world's population lives in this country. Yet China wants to lease 3 million hectares of land from the Ukraine for the next 50 years. This allows them to play into the growing population and rising wealth.
At the end of September it was revealed that China will lease 3 million hectares of land in the Ukraine for the next 50 years. In comparison: the Netherlands covers 3.7 million hectares. Besides producing half of the world's commercial production of vegetables, China also produces 30% of the world's commercial fruit. They extra land is needed to foresee the growing population of food befitting the growing wealth. China is also rapidly urbanising and this means the food pattern is changing. The demand for meat and fresh fruits and vegetables is increasing. According to ABARES the global demand for agrarian food products in 2050 will be 77% higher than in 2007 and 43% of that demand will be from the Chinese market.
Food safety will also play a larger role. In recent years the demand for milk powder from Europe increased due to the poisonings in 2008. Even five years after the scandal the demand for guaranteed safe products remains high - fed by the low faith in domestic production. Research shows that 83% of the middle class is prepared to pay more for safe products and that mothers are prepared to pay up to 20% more if they know for sure that the product is safe for their child.
China isn't just expanding abroad, their own production is also developing. Space is cleared near newly developed cities for greenhouses and food production. The area of greenhouses is near one million - compared to 700,000 in 2011. An example of this is the company Le Gaga Holdings Limited. The company has an area of almost 1,671 hectares, of which over 700 hectares are greenhouses, and grew by over 100 hectares per year for the last few years. The limitation of company growth is mainly in the shortage of growing knowledge - not in capital. Recent years show more and more Dutch companies moving to the country.
China has one of the longest histories of good vegetable seeds. The first Chinese agrarian manual, QiMinYAoSu, described the importance of seed breeding 2,500 years ago. China also has the largest area of vegetable cultivation. But at the moment the sector is very spread out. Most seed companies are small and only multiply and sell seeds. Zhen Liu concluded that of the 8700 registered seed companies (in 2010) only 112 really breed vegetable crops and employ over 10 people. Locations belonging to Dutch companies belong to the most important of those Chinese companies.
Seed companies Enza Seeds, Rijk Zwaan and newcomer Axia Seeds all breed in China. The country has a long history in breeding, but is spread out at the moment. "There are over 1,000,000 hectares of tomatoes in China. In the area we work in there is around 30,000 hectares, "declares Sandor van Vliet, director of Axia Seeds. "If we can fill in a few percent of this, it is an interesting market." The company collaborates with Shouguang Vegetable Industry. The Chinese horticulture is also expanding its borders. This same Shouguang Vegetable Industry has been located in Holland starting this year. The company is converting an old cucumber nursery into a study and research centre. The goal is for Chinese people to come and gather knowledge in Holland about horticulture, growing techniques and food safety - so that there can be production in China. A modern testing centre (3 ha) for agriculture and horticulture is being built in Surinam, financed by the Chinese government. The Surinam government wants to make the country the 'breadbasket of the Caribbean' - but what role does China play in this? Chinese employees are to work here - and the export is to be sent to China.
Back to the Ukraine. The land leased is in the east of the country. First China can do whatever it wants on 100,000 hectares. This will be extended gradually. The production will be sold at reasonable prices to Chinese state companies. It will bring the Ukraine around 1.9 billion Euro per year. Lucrative? Not all that shines is gold. A similar situation has been going on in Africa for a while. According to The New York Times the number of Chinese investments in Africa grew from 70 to 5,500 million dollars in only five years time - between 2003 and 2008. The Chinese companies are eyeing up Africa's oil, uranium and cobalt, offering money in exchange. But slowly the countries are rebelling. The Chinese companies exploit the land and disregard environmental laws. There have been protests in Niger about the high tariffs of the China National Petroleum Corporation. Excess crude oil is dumped in Chad and the oil minister refuses to let the Chinese continue their work. In Gabon national oil companies are receiving preferential treatment over the Chinese due to mishaps in the areas of environment and mismanagements. "This is everything we have," says Foumakoye Gado, the oil minister of Niger told The New York Times. "If we give up our natural resources, we will never get out of this precarious situation." Zimbabwe, or rather, president Mugabe, accepted a deal with Chinese investors. There is cultivation under Chinese lead on 500 hectares, with growth possibilities up to 8000 hectares. Mines and other raw materials are also under the control of Chinese companies. In exchange for this Mugabe received weapons and money. Now the country is headed for bankruptcy, various economists conclude. Cheap Chinese import products are destroying the local employment and the country is financially dependent on Chinese generosity. "We have been economically colonised," concludes a Zimbabwean economist.