Green food gets cold shoulder
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09/06/2002
Shanghai's first store for "green" or "organic" food (grown without the use of chemicals) will open in mid-September at the intersection of Huaihai Zhonglu and Yandang Lu."We are prepared to make a loss for three years because its market is not so good," said Dong Shenying, general manager of the National Speciality Group of Shanghai, "but I have confidence we will make a profit in the future." Though green food has been promoted by the government for a long time, sales have met blockages around the country, said Zhu Zongyuan, professor of the Shanghai Quality Certificate Centre of Agricultural Products. The country used to have several green food stores but most enterprises involved in the retailing of green food have made a loss. "Nowadays people don't have a good awareness of the benefit of green food, most people decline to buy because of its slightly higher price than others," said Tang Xiaofeng, manager of a pumpkin-juice producing enterprise. What makes this expert regretful is that there are not more enterprises willing to persist in the attempt. "Losses can't be avoided when starting a new business. I still believe the market in Shanghai is full of potential," Tang said, "but it needs time." Currently there are only 66 kinds of agricultural products in Shanghai that have passed the certification process. "To get a green food certificate is not easy," said Zhu. The city government has established a set of local standards for eight kinds of agricultural products: aquatic products, pork, vegetables, edible mushrooms, fruits, rice, birds and eggs. China Daily News
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