The nine specialized processing zones include a wheat belt in East China, a corn and bean belt in North and Northeast China, a rapeseed belt along the Yangtze River, a beef and mutton belt in Central China, and a milk belt in the northern part of China.

Other zones include an apple belt around the Bohai Bay and in Northwest China, an orange belt in the southern part of China, an aquatic belt along big rivers and lakes and a tea belt in major tea growing areas.

Du also said China will nearly double the capacity of its processing industry of farm produce in the next three years, making it more competitive in the international market.

At a national meeting on the processing industry of farm produce, which opened in Beijing on Sunday, Du said the industry will further tap into the country's unique resources to better respond to market demand.

By 2005, more than 55 percent of farm produce will be processed before reaching the market, compared with the current ratio of 30 percent.

The Chinese Government will launch a national program of developing the processing industry of farm produce this year.

Du said the program is aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the farming industry after China entered the World Trade Organization, creating new jobs for millions of idle rural labourers and increasing the income of farmers who make up over 70 percent of the country's population.

In the next few years, the Ministry of Agriculture and other government departments will support the expansion of a group of farm produce processing companies in terms of their supply bases, research and development, technical renovation and marketing.

Official figures showed that China has become the largest producer of grain, edible oil crops, fruits, meat, eggs and aquatic products in the world.

However, the country processes only 30 percent of the total output, compared with the ratio of more than 80 percent in industrialized countries.

The Ministry of Agriculture predicts that by 2005, the total new value that the country's farm produce processing industry creates every year will reach 3.4 trillion yuan (US$411 billion). This means an annual growth of 10 percent in the next three years.

In order to reach this target, the country will focus on establishing a secured system for its farm produce supply, one for processing enterprises, quality control and safety, technical innovations and a system of policy support for conformity with WTO rules.

Du said the country will develop an all-round monitoring system of quarantine, chemical residue tests, environmental surveys and quality control of processed farm produce, adding that a group of test centres will be established all over the country.

(Xinhua News Agency August 20, 2002)