The Chinese market shows a rapidly growing interest in eco-friendly and organic food products from abroad – and Poland and Serbia have realized the opportunity this provides for their food producers.
Dairy exports to China from Poland are worth $130 million annually and there are 87 farmers sending their products to Asia. That's soon to be 88.
A dairy farm in Rempin, Poland. /CGTN
One dairy farm close to Poland's city of Rempin, with more than 1,200 cows and producing 20,000 liters of milk for baby formula daily. Now it is looking to expand into the Chinese market.
The farm's CEO Dorota Gorzkowska said: "Talking about population numbers, the Chinese market is the most attractive. Our company would like to build its position there. Given that the birth rate is growing in China again and that we have a product that can interest a potential customer, we want to get to this market as soon as possible," she said.
They aim to send a container with 22 tonnes of baby formula to China every day. They would then join the 87 dairy producers from Poland that are annually exporting $130 million worth of products to China.
Wine labels are translated for the Chinese market. /CGTN
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Meanwhile in Serbia, fruit and wine are the main export products to China. The Levac area in central Serbia has no large-scale industry and little pollution, that's why dozens of wineries have emerged here, including those with the Chinese market in their crosshairs. Vinex is one of them.
"Our winery is in central Serbia, where the winemaking tradition goes as far back as the middle centuries," Milorad Stevanovic, Vinex's marketing manager, told CGTN Europe. "Our annual capacity is up to 10 million bottles and we are export-oriented. Most of our wine goes to the Russian market and we started exporting to China."
Wine is a new growth industry in Serbia. /CGTN
The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically slowed down the Serbian exports to China in 2020. Yet, the producers used this time to make their products more appealing to the Chinese market.
Nebojsa Terzic, the executive manager of one of the leading wine and natural juices exporters, said: "We've customized the label and the visual looks to the Chinese customers. That's something Serbian companies should work on more – to analyze the Chinese market. I think the entire production of wine in Serbia cannot satisfy the needs of [even] three cities in China."
Their next focus is to register with China Organic labels for their organic products that already have European and Serbian organic certificates.