Yingde Ma Bamboo Shoots

　“Ma bamboo shoots generally become productive after three years of planting, then gradually enter a peak production period.”

“Xiniu Ma Bamboo Shoots,” a specialty of Yingde City, Guangdong Province, is a China Geographical Indication product.

Xiniu Ma Bamboo Shoots, also known as “Yingde Ma Bamboo Shoots,” are prized for their tenderness, refreshing taste, and rich bamboo flavor, earning the reputation of “the foremost delicacy among vegetables.” These shoots are rich in crude fiber and protein, containing 18 types of amino acids, fats, carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus, iron, carotene, vitamins B1, B2, vitamin C, and other vitamins. They are also abundant in minerals and trace elements such as iron and germanium. Many vitamins and carotenes are more than double the amount found in Chinese cabbage. Their protein is of superior quality, making them a natural, pollution-free, and excellent health food. Beyond their nutritional value, Ma bamboo shoots also have notable medicinal properties. They are sweet in taste and non-toxic, primarily aiding in quenching thirst, and offer benefits such as clearing heat and resolving phlegm, benefiting qi and harmonizing the stomach, regulating qi and promoting diuresis, and soothing the diaphragm and refreshing the stomach. Eating them can aid digestion and relieve food stagnation.

On May 30, 2008, the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China approved the implementation of geographical indication product protection for “Xiniu Ma Bamboo Shoots.”

Xiniu Ma Bamboo Shoots are characterized by their tenderness, refreshing taste, rich bamboo aroma, low fiber content, high edible rate, abundance of crude fiber, and various vitamins such as A, B2, B6, and C. They are natural, pollution-free, high-quality food that aids digestion and relieves food stagnation. The main Xiniu Ma Bamboo Shoot products include ready-to-eat series and dried shoot series. The ready-to-eat series is made from high-quality Ma bamboo shoots using modern processing techniques, yielding products such as crispy shoots, jade shoots, and phoenix-tail young shoots. The dried shoot series includes shoot flowers, shoot tips, shoot skins, and raw shredded shoots, all traditionally processed by folk methods.

The skin of Xiniu Ma Bamboo Shoots is light yellow (earning them the nickname “peeled gold”) and cylindrical, measuring 60–100 cm in length (with 2–3 green sections at the shoot tip), and thick (typically 10–16 cm in diameter). The section between the shoot tips is relatively crisp, with a strong bamboo aroma and pale green sections (usually removed before eating), while the shoot tail is tender, the flesh is white, and the taste is sweet and fragrant.

Differences between Xiniu Ma Bamboo Shoots and other Ma bamboo shoots: Xiniu Ma bamboo plants are tall with lush foliage, and the Xiniu Ma Bamboo Shoots are thick and fleshy, with individual shoots weighing over 3–5 kilograms, compared to about 1–3 kilograms for ordinary Ma bamboo shoots. Xiniu Ma Bamboo Shoots have a unique flavor, with distinct characteristics in the shoot tip and tail. The shoot tip section is crisp with a strong aroma and pale green sections (often removed during processing or consumption), while the tail is tender, the flesh is white, and the taste is sweet and fragrant. The tip and tail can each become distinctive shoot products. In contrast, the tips and tails of ordinary Ma bamboo shoots have more similar flavors and are typically processed or consumed together.

　“Every part of the Ma bamboo shoot is valuable, and our dried shoots are very popular abroad,” said a person in charge of an agricultural products company in Yingde City, Qingyuan. In recent years, the company’s product sales have been steadily increasing. Data shows that in the past three years, over 1,083 batches of Ma bamboo shoots and their products were exported from Qingyuan alone, weighing more than 17,000 tons, with a value of 610 million RMB.

　　Earlier this year, Qingyuan proposed to focus on advancing the development of leading agricultural industries, aiming to build five industries with a hundred-billion-yuan output value around Qingyuan chickens, Yingde black tea, Lianzhou choy sum, Siamese fragrant rice, and Ma bamboo shoots. To achieve this goal, Yingde City has explicitly stated its aim to establish Ma bamboo shoots as a “hundred-billion-yuan key pillar industry” within two years, boosting farmers’ incomes and contributing to rural revitalization.

Large-scale cultivation expands market reach

　　Yingde is the home of Ma bamboo shoots in China, with a long history of cultivation. As market demand has grown, the planting area of Ma bamboo shoots has increased year by year. The region currently has 620,000 mu of Ma bamboo shoot plantations, distributed across areas such as Xiniu, Dadong, Hanrong, and Lianjiangkou, with an annual output of about 2 billion jin. Among these, Xiniu Ma Bamboo Shoots are a national geographical indication protected product.

　　Currently, Yingde City has approximately 500 centralized processing points for shoot farmers, around 76 specialized cooperatives, and about 71 large-scale processing factories, employing 72,900 people. The annual economic output value of the Ma bamboo shoot industry is about 3.2 billion yuan, with the income from fresh shoots (direct economic benefit for farmers) accounting for about 2.1 billion yuan. Well-managed Ma bamboo shoots can yield a net income of over 4,000 yuan per mu. Xiniu Town is the main production and processing base for Ma bamboo shoots in Yingde, with about 200,000 mu of planted area and an annual output value of about 1 billion yuan. Luo Yasheng, the Party Committee Secretary of Xiniu Town, stated that the average annual income of shoot-growing households in the town is 150,000 yuan.

Industrial integration helps enhance added value

　　In recent years, Xiniu Town has guided the establishment of a Ma bamboo shoot industry association, formed a technology service team, set local standards, promoted standardized processing of Ma bamboo shoot products, and created pollution-free Ma bamboo shoot production demonstration bases, among other measures. These efforts have attracted and nurtured multiple enterprises to support industry development. To date, more than ten bamboo shoot product processing factories have been built and put into operation, with nearly 100 sales outlets established across the country. The Ma bamboo shoot industry has become the economic pillar of Xiniu Town and a leading sector for increasing farmers’ incomes.

　　“We will strengthen research on the development of the Ma bamboo shoot industry, gradually forming a new agricultural management structure where ‘leading enterprises serve as the backbone, agricultural business entities act as the link, and farmer cooperatives and major professional growers form the foundation,’” introduced Zhang Yangbin, Party Secretary of Yingde City. Ma bamboo shoots can be integrated with Qingyuan chickens, freshwater seafood, and beautiful countryside construction to create catering and tourism brands such as “bamboo shoots + fish” and “bamboo shoots + chicken,” achieving deep integration of the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries, agricultural transformation and upgrading, full-chain value appreciation, and contributing to rural revitalization.

Boosting industrial parks to elevate brand value

　　“Yingde will leverage its ecological regional advantages and the foundation of the characteristic Ma bamboo shoot industry, with Xiniu Town as the core area and surrounding regions as the radiation zone, to apply for a provincial-level modern agricultural industrial park for Ma bamboo shoots. This will accelerate the adjustment and upgrade of the Ma bamboo shoot industry structure, activating the brand value of these distinctive shoots,” said Guo Chengzhan, Deputy Mayor of Yingde City.

　　In February this year, the Yingde City Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, the Ma Bamboo Industry Association, and the Yingde Rural Commercial Bank signed a “framework agreement.” The Yingde Rural Commercial Bank, through its innovative flagship product—the “Golden Bamboo Shoot” loan—has granted 2 billion yuan in credit to the Ma bamboo shoot industry group, offering preferential interest rates to support the funding needs of enterprises and farmers in bamboo shoot cultivation, acquisition, processing, and sales.

　　In addition to policy support, many Ma bamboo shoot enterprises in Yingde are also seeking new breakthroughs. Yingde Dayuebei Food Co., Ltd., located in Xiniu Town, is actively building a public service platform for Ma bamboo shoots, providing various customized services for the e-commerce transformation of the industry and promoting online sales of Ma bamboo shoot products.

Industry has significant impact but low added value

Yingde City has a total of 620,000 mu of Ma bamboo shoots, with an annual output of about 1 million tons. There are about 71 large-scale processing factories, including 11 enterprises (such as Qiaokou, Yuanfeng, Hongde, Xiongsheng, and Lianzhangjia) that have obtained SC certification. According to statistics, the economic output value of Yingde’s Ma bamboo shoot industry is about 3.2 billion yuan, with the income from fresh shoots (direct economic benefit for farmers) amounting to about 2.1 billion yuan. Based on an average initial processing value-added of 600 yuan per ton, this could increase the annual output value by 492 million yuan. The city processes over 30,000 tons of bamboo shoot products annually, with a value exceeding 350 million yuan.

As a major agricultural city, Qingyuan boasts numerous high-quality agricultural products, with a cumulative total of 27 geographical indications. Yingde Xiniu Ma Bamboo Shoots are also a China National Geographical Indication protected product. However, like other geographical indication agricultural products, the Ma bamboo shoot industry in Yingde generally faces issues such as short industrial chains, and the full potential of scale effects and brand value has not yet been realized.

“Although there are many people involved in the Ma bamboo shoot industry in Yingde, most remain at the stages of raw material acquisition, rough processing, and OEM production,” said Li Shuiqing, President of the Yingde Ma Bamboo Industry Association. Most raw materials and roughly processed Ma bamboo shoot products from Yingde are sold to regions like Guangxi and Sichuan, where large processing enterprises refine them into various Ma bamboo shoot foods for sale nationwide. The market end is controlled by others, resulting in low added value and limited economic benefits for local products in Yingde.

According to statistics from the Qingyuan Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, the five major industries are related to over a million agricultural people. However, the organization, scale, standardization, and branding of Qingyuan’s agricultural industry development remain low. There is a lack of leading enterprises, low industrial agglomeration, excessively short industrial chains, insufficient exploration of brand value and advantage utilization, and prominent issues such as “increased production without increased income, and high quality without high prices,” showing a significant gap compared to the requirements for high-quality agricultural development.

Actions

Planning to build a provincial-level modern agricultural industrial park for Ma bamboo shoots

Based on Yingde’s ecological regional advantages and the foundation of the characteristic Ma bamboo shoot industry, it is proposed to take Xiniu Town as the core area and radiate to towns such as Shuibian, Hanrong, Shihuipu, Shigutang, and Hengshitang. The application is for the 2022 Yingde City Ma Bamboo Shoots Provincial-Level Modern Agricultural Industrial Park. Leveraging the construction platform of the provincial industrial park, the adjustment and upgrade of the city’s Ma bamboo shoot industry structure will be accelerated. The project implementation entity is initially planned to be led by Guangdong Qianfeng Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., which issued a notice on February 7 for the park construction project to apply for inclusion in the project database.

Currently, Yingde has coordinated approximately 232 acres of land for the construction of the industrial park project. The planning proposal for the industrial park and the application materials such as the fund utilization plan have been largely completed and entered the approval submission stage. In addition, to promote the large-scale development of Yingde's moso bamboo shoot industry and activate the brand value of this distinctive product.

On February 15, the Yingde Municipal Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, the Yingde Moso Bamboo Industry Association, and the Yingde Rural Commercial Bank signed the "Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement for the Development of the Moso Bamboo Industry." The Yingde Rural Commercial Bank will support the industry by offering an innovative flagship product — the "Golden Bamboo Shoot" loan — providing credit lines of 2 billion yuan to the moso bamboo shoot industry group along with preferential interest rates. This initiative aims to meet the funding needs of enterprises and farmers in the cultivation, acquisition, processing, and sales of bamboo shoot products.

Tell compelling stories of bamboo culture and develop the bamboo industry to its fullest potential.

The moso bamboo industry is a livelihood-boosting sector. The Yingde Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government have the confidence and determination to develop the moso bamboo shoot industry well. At a symposium, Zhang Yangbin, Secretary of the Yingde Municipal Party Committee, stated that Yingde will focus on top-level design, strengthen research on the development of the moso bamboo shoot industry, enhance people-centered governance, adopt systematic thinking, and gradually form a new agricultural business structure where leading enterprises serve as the backbone, agricultural business entities act as the link, and farmers' professional cooperatives and large-scale specialized growers form the foundation.

Faced with the current favorable development opportunities, Yingde aims to cultivate the moso bamboo shoot industry as a pillar and livelihood industry through standardization and branding, striving to build it into a "10-billion-yuan" pillar industry. At the same time, Yingde will take the opportunity of establishing a provincial-level modern agricultural industrial park for moso bamboo shoots to set up a research and development center for moso bamboo shoots. Relying on advanced technology and professional talent from higher education and research institutions, the center will conduct research, organize enterprises to establish industry quality standards for moso bamboo shoots, and help businesses transition from rough processing to refined processing.

In addition, Yingde will increase promotion of the regional public brand for moso bamboo shoots, explore the history of moso bamboo shoot cultivation in Yingde, tell compelling bamboo culture stories, and develop rich bamboo culture content. For example, moso bamboo shoots can be integrated with Qingyuan chicken, river fresh produce, and rural revitalization efforts to create dining and tourism brands such as “Shoots + Fish” and “Shoots + Chicken,” achieving deep integration across the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries.