Many Chinese companies closed before Chinese Spring Festival [25 January, 2020] and have remained closed in response to the corona epidemic. However, starting from this week, several companies intend to gradually open their doors and resume business as usual.
Although the market did slow down during this period, consumer demand for fresh fruit and vegetables remained unchanged. The price of fresh agricultural products continues to rise. Tangshan City Caofeidian Jinghe Food Co., Ltd. is one of the companies that has resumed business operations.
Caofeidian Jinghe Food is a company specialized in vegetable processing. Ms. Zhang, a spokesperson for the company, gave her view on the recent developments in China: "We resumed business operations on January 27th. Our company specializes in processing vegetables. The entire process takes place in a cold environment. We thoroughly wash the vegetables, cut them, and vacuum pack them. The corona virus does not have a significant impact on our business operations. Our supply comes straight from the production area or from agricultural cooperations and is delivered directly to our processing factory. Our supply volume has been stable up until now. We have no doubt that we will continue to provide the market with clean vegetables. Apart from this, we do see that the price of vegetables is rising, but for now the price remains within acceptable margins."
The Spring Festival holiday will end on the 9th of February. The entire country will return to work. This will make containment of the corona virus more difficult. The Chinese government therefore decided to extend the Spring Festival holiday in several provinces. Some companies will be affected by this decision and they will keep their doors closed.
Ms. Zhang explained the situation as follows: "The epidemic is serious. We resumed business operations on the precondition that proper prevention measures were in place. We have made our hygienic regulations more severe to guarantee the health and safety of our employees. The entire factory is cleaned with disinfectant once a day. Employees go through a thermometer room before they enter the factory. All employees are required to wear surgical masks and clean their entire body with disinfectant spray before they begin their working day. They are also required to wash their hands at regular intervals. We refuse visitors from outside."
Caofeidian Jinghe Food invested 200 million yuan [28.6 million USD] in a new factory in Caofeidian Agricultural Park to expand their production. The company officially opened the new factory in 2019. The factory has a daily processing volume of 1,300 tons. This is the highest processing rate in north China. The new factory integrates a production demonstration area, product research and development, and AI storage into one top-quality cold supply chain for processed vegetables. The new factory allows Caofeidian Jinghe Food to extend its reach from the food and beverage market to other markets including corporate purchases, high-end convenience stores and online retail. The factory features a special cooling pool for the vegetables, as well as cold storage and a production line with innovative equipment.
Caofeidian Jinghe Food focuses on the market in north China, but as production capacity continues to grow, the company also looks for opportunities in the rest of China and abroad. "We can clearly see a consumer trend towards convenient food products. Market demand for fresh, washed, cut vegetables continues to grow. That is one of the more obvious market developments."
Ms. Zhang also added, "we supply a wide variety of different products such as carrots, leaf vegetables, onions, potatoes, and other vegetables. All these vegetables are washed and cut before they are vacuum packed or packaged in small boxes that can be easily heated. We are able to produce and package based on customer demand."
For more information:
Zhang Yanmei
Tangshan City Caofeidian Jinghe Food Co., Ltd.
Tel.: +86 139 1191 1886
E-mail: 378459273@qq.com