Weak-gluten wheat from Huai Bin

Weak-gluten wheat from Huai Bin

　　Weak-gluten wheat from Huai Bin is a specialty of Huai Bin County in Xinyang City, Henan Province. The unique climate has made Huai Bin in Henan the core production area for weak-gluten wheat in China, earning it the title “China’s No. 1 County for Weak-Gluten Wheat Production.”

　　The Huai River basin features a warm temperate semi-humid climate with high temperatures, abundant rainfall, insufficient sunlight, and small diurnal temperature variations. These conditions give the local wheat its unique qualities—low protein content and weak gluten development. This type of wheat can rival the limited weak-gluten wheat produced only in parts of the United States and Australia, making it a rare grain variety in the world. Huai Bin County is located in the middle and lower reaches of the Huai River, where vast contiguous fields of weak-gluten wheat stretch along both banks of the river and in the Honghe Bay area, covering hundreds of thousands of acres.

　　In terms of weak-gluten wheat production, the county’s Huai River basin wheat-growing regions have vigorously promoted weak-gluten wheat varieties such as “Yangmai 15,” “Shengxuan 6,” and “Zhengmai 004.” There are three specialized cooperatives for weak-gluten wheat planting and agricultural machinery services, which have cumulatively benefited 270,000 farming households (over multiple seasons). The county has established the only provincial-level weak-gluten wheat engineering technology research center in the province and even the nation, as well as a county-level weak-gluten wheat research association. It also hosts the largest weak-gluten wheat seed breeding base in the country. In May 2012, the first China (Huai Bin) Weak-Gluten Wheat Industry Development Summit Forum was successfully held. The county’s total planting area reaches 500,000 mu, with an annual output of 200,000 tons. All of it is acquired through contract farming, and the agricultural output value has exceeded 400 million yuan.

　　In low-gluten flour processing, the county now has five large-scale specialized flour processing enterprises with ten production lines, designed to process 350,000 tons of wheat annually. In 2012, 120,000 tons of weak-gluten wheat were processed, yielding 80,000 tons of finished products and generating sales revenue of 300 million yuan. Its flagship product, the “Jinyunan” brand of low-gluten specialized flour, has won titles such as “National Trusted Flour” and “Famous Trademark of Henan Province.” The products sell well across the country and are supplied as specialized flour to major domestic food processing companies such as “Huamei,” “Jintai,” “Haixin,” “Sanquan,” “Sinian,” and “Xiaoshuaicai.”

　　In baked goods production, the county is home to five food manufacturing enterprises—Fugui, Yilida, Shuangfu, Fengsheng, and Fengshou—and three chained (or storefront) baked goods processing businesses—Red House, Holiland, and Yaya. Together, they produce and sell 30,000 tons of various baked goods annually, generating sales revenue of 300 million yuan.