Natural growth from Heilongjiang's farms

Technicians at the Chaihe Forestry Bureau check mushrooms under cultivation. [Photo provided to China Daily]

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.