Natural growth from Heilongjiang's farms

Employees at the Qinghe Forestry Bureau in Heilongjiang dry berries from the magnoliavine used in Chinese herbal medicine. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Increasing emphasis on organic food pays dividends.

A wide variety of green food from Heilongjiang province attracted visitors from across the nation at the 10th Beijing International Organic Food Exhibition between April 7 and 9.

More than 60 enterprises from the northeast province participated with over 1,000 products showcasing achievements in the industry and the potential of the country's largest growing center for green and organic food, said officials.

The display included organic rice priced between eight yuan ($1.28) and 100 yuan per 500 grams, mushrooms priced at more than 100 yuan per 500 grams, and various kinds of sausages and salmon.

Heilongjiang has good conditions for green food, organic food and animal husbandry with a grassland covering 4.33 million hectares.

It has 67 percent of the country's total black soil area and a long cold winter that leaves the land dormant, providing a natural shield against plant diseases and insect pests.

The province's green food production was valued at 133 billion yuan ($21 billion) last year with output surpassing 30 million tons, one-fifth of the country's total. Some 4.48 million hectares has been approved by the state to grow green food, said E Zhongqi, director of the Heilongjiang committee at the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

Every year the provincial government sets aside a fund ranging from 100 million yuan to 1 billion yuan to support the local green food industry, E said.

Heilongjiang's green food enterprises have 33 noted brands, 20 China time-honored brands and 80 landmark products.

The province also focuses on food safety.

Its pass rate in random quality checks on green food is over 99 percent, two percentage points higher than the country's average.

It is expected that by 2015, the value of Heilongjiang's food industry output will reach some 550 billion yuan and 120 billion yuan in added value, annual growth of over 20 percent.