Enping Potatoes

Enping Potatoes

　　Enping Potatoes -- A Famous, Special, High-Quality, and New Agricultural Product of Guangdong Province

　　Enping is the top potato production base in Guangdong Province, second only to Huidong County. It is one of the demonstration counties for new varieties and technologies under the Ministry of Agriculture’s Potato Industry Technology System and a national ten-thousand-mu high-yield potato creation demonstration area, boasting multiple “national-level” honors. Enping is also a designated procurement site for potatoes by the well-known food company Orion, and the chips and fries you often buy at the supermarket may very well be made from Enping potatoes. Enping potatoes not only appear in markets and supermarkets across major cities in China but are also exported to multiple countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam, making them a rather famous “international potato.”

　　Enping City began large-scale potato cultivation in 2008. Driven by the local government and stimulated by good economic returns, the potato industry has shown strong momentum, with rapid improvements in scale, intensification, and mechanization. By 2012, Enping’s potato planting area exceeded 40,000 mu, making it the top potato production base in Guangdong Province, second only to Huidong County, while also becoming one of the demonstration counties for new varieties and technologies under the Ministry of Agriculture’s Potato Industry Technology System. At this point, the standardized production of Enping potatoes matured, with the entire process—from variety selection, virus-free treatment, fertilizer and water management, integrated pest and disease control, to harvesting—carried out strictly according to standardized production procedures. The potatoes produced in Enping are of high quality and attractive appearance, earning widespread praise in cities such as Guangzhou, Zhongshan, Zhuhai, as well as in our local areas of Pengjiang, Jianghai, and Xinhui, gradually forming an efficient “rice-rice-potato” rotation farming model.

　　Starting in 2011, Orion (China) Food Co., Ltd. signed a cooperation agreement with the Lütian Cooperative in Enping, adopting an order agriculture model to purchase Enping potatoes for food processing, producing products such as chips and fries. “Whether in terms of quality or yield, Enping potatoes are the best in the entire southern region,” said Li Wei, raw material procurement manager at Orion (China) Food Co., Ltd., when discussing why they chose to source potatoes from Enping.

　　Starting in 2012, the Enping potato industry, which had already gained a solid foothold in the market, began to steadily improve in both quality and speed. While maintaining a reasonable planting area, efforts were focused on enhancing product quality and image, and significant work was done to build and expand sales channels, leading to further development of the Enping potato industry.

　　After years of development, the Enping potato industry has formed a relatively mature production and sales chain. Among the most impactful measures is the annual Potato Production and Sales Matchmaking Conference held in Niujiang Town. On this day, a large number of buyers from across the country gather in Enping to sign purchase contracts on-site with local cooperatives or potato farmers, making it the most important platform for Enping potato sales. Relevant departments in Enping City have also actively communicated with exporters, achieving a breakthrough in potato export sales in 2012. In addition, the Enping City Agriculture Bureau strengthened production and sales matchmaking through online promotion; established cold storage for delayed sales to tap into new potato markets; enhanced harvest scheduling by adopting a “focus on both ends, boost the middle” approach to stagger concentrated market entry times; vigorously promoted potato-based foods to increase consumption, and employed other methods to actively broaden potato sales channels.

　　In 2014, with the addition of Jiangteng Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., a company specializing in agricultural product circulation, Enping’s potato industry officially established a “one-stop” production and sales model covering production, sales, and transportation. Domestic and international sales markets were further opened, sales channels expanded, and the Enping potato industry entered a new phase of development, with products being sold to multiple countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam.

　　Three Major Advantages of Enping Potatoes

　　Environment, Variety, Technology – None Can Be Missing

　　Enping’s soil and climate environment are suitable for winter potato cultivation. Compared to ordinary potato growing, Enping’s winter potatoes have unique advantages. First, the main potato production areas in China are in the north, where potatoes generally hit the market in large quantities starting in September each year, whereas Enping’s winter potatoes are typically harvested and marketed around March, allowing them to avoid peak competition with northern potatoes and secure higher market prices. Second, the growth period of winter potatoes is during the colder winter season, resulting in fewer pests, eliminating the need for highly toxic pesticides or hormone application, making Enping potatoes healthier and more environmentally friendly. Currently, Enping is implementing the World Bank’s Guangdong Agricultural Non-Point Source Pollution Control Project, with project experts conducting annual spot checks on pesticide and fertilizer residues in the project areas, and the Jiangmen and Enping agricultural inspection centers also conducting corresponding tests. Test results over the years show that Enping potatoes have never been found to exceed pesticide residue limits, making them a reliable “green potato.” Moreover, the growth period of Enping’s winter potatoes coincides with the off-season for rice cultivation, gradually forming an efficient “rice-rice-potato” rotation farming model. Potato cultivation does not interfere with rice farming—in fact, it enriches the soil, boosting rice yields.

　　The choice of seed potatoes is the foundation for ensuring potato quality and yield. Currently, Enping plants high-quality selected varieties such as the Favorita series (commonly known as Dutch potatoes) and “Atlantic.” As a result, Enping-produced potatoes are highly favored in the market. Of course, the high quality of Enping potatoes wasn’t achieved overnight. In the early stages of the Enping potato industry, variety selection was not ideal, with farmers planting traditional local varieties, mostly the conventional “Jinong 958,” which had relatively low yield and returns. To address this, the Enping agriculture department put significant effort into procuring a batch of high-quality varieties and actively promoting them among farmers, gradually phasing out the traditional “Jinong 958.” Now, all major potato-producing areas in Enping choose only those varieties that have passed national variety approval—high-yield, virus-free, and high-quality potatoes. Among them, Favorita is a table variety, with commercial tubers reaching sizes up to 1.5 kg or more under natural cultivation.

　　Over the years, the Enping agriculture department has actively guided growers in improving potato planting techniques, achieving remarkable results. One standout is the plastic film mulching technology pioneered in Enping. The promotion of this technology has effectively increased both yield and quality of Enping potatoes. Winter potato mulching with reduced tillage is a new potato planting technique compared to traditional methods—it saves labor and increases yield, making it very popular among farmers. This technology improves soil physical properties, enhances soil fertility, suppresses weed growth, reduces disease, and even lowers humidity during continuous rainfall, promoting plant growth, increasing yield, and reducing labor costs. Currently, the adoption rate of plastic film mulching with reduced tillage for winter potatoes in Enping has reached over 95%.

　　Additionally, Enping has actively promoted mechanized potato planting. Through government guidance, enterprises and local entrepreneurs have been encouraged to participate in potato farming, forming production models such as “company + base + farmer,” “cooperative + base + farmer,” and “broker + farmer.” Favorable farming conditions, active production activities, and rapidly rising labor costs have driven rapid mechanization within demonstration areas. Currently, potato planting in Enping is largely mechanized or semi-mechanized, with comprehensive mechanization levels exceeding 80%, ranking among the top in the province. Particularly in Niujiang Town, the mechanization level reaches over 95%. Mechanization has significantly improved harvesting efficiency, reduced labor intensity, increased yield and income, minimized harvest losses, and laid a solid foundation for Enping’s potato production.