In 2007, the government of Anqiu took the lead in establishing the country’s first agricultural products safety office, responsible for enhancing cooperation and coordination between the government and producers in monitoring the quality and safety of farm produce.

“The small scale of most operations in China and the fact that farms are relatively dispersed and decentralized undoubtedly contribute to the abuse of agricultural chemicals in direct violation of international regulations. It is necessary to encourage amalgamation and standardization in agribusiness and improve management systems,” Liu Shili said, adding that Chinese enterprises shouldn’t evade the challenges, but rather face them head on by actively improving quality.

In response to Japan’s Positive List System, Liu Shili immediately organized a supervisory team consisting of three agronomists and 14 agricultural technicians. Today, they manage every link of Liu’s operations, from planting, seed supply, fertilizer supply, pest elimination, plant disease prevention and control right through to food processing. In addition, Liu has hired agricultural experts to provide guidance through the whole process of production. A quality tracing system has also been established on his farms.

Liu’s company is not the only one to apply such unified management. Huadu Foodstuffs, China’s largest chicken exporter, has also instituted a “field-to-the-table” supervision process. Every stage of production, from chicken breeding, feed production, broiler chicken raising, slaughtering and processing, through to sales in domestic and international markets, is monitored and controlled for quality.

At the 2011 China Import and Export Fair, Liu Zhengmei, chairman of Blue Lake Group, pointed out that the issue of food safety is here to stay, and rightly so. Chinese enterprises must deal with green barriers honestly by improving the quality of their products. “As long as our products can satisfy the needs and win the trust of our consumers, no barriers can stop us. But to meet standards we have to sacrifice part of our profits,” Liu said.

Another exhibitor, Chen Huihui from Zhejiang Province, said: “At the moment, the Southeast Asian market is relatively stable. Demand from the Middle East and Africa is growing quickly, and African consumers are on the whole very price sensitive. There are new opportunities to expand our business, and we are putting particular emphasis on tapping these burgeoning markets.”

The Chinese government has policies in place that target the needs of the nation’s agriculturalists. In the next five years, it plans to optimize agriculture operational structure and bring in measures to improve the quality of farm products. Also on the cards is an early-warning system for technical barriers. Government representatives plan to participate more actively in the rule-making process in international agricultural trade organizations to ensure a fair deal for developing countries.

Agricultural exports are an important source of earnings to poorer countries around the world. As long as the playing field is level and barriers don’t creep up, world markets for agricultural products can benefit the world’s farmers in years to come.