Xinhua Insight: China takes a bite of the world

She is Chinese, but that is not going to stop Zhang Yuan, 33, having a western-style Christmas feast with her family this year.

Her menu includes Australian steak, Italian spaghetti, salad, creamy mushroom soup, imported wine and French souffle as dessert.

"I will bake the cake myself, with flour, cream, butter and milk -- all imported," said Zhang, who lives in Shijiazhuang, capital of north China's Hebei Province. "Now that ordering online is so convenient, foreign food is no longer rare."

Due to online shopping services, Chinese now have much better and faster access to food from around the world, prompting changes in the local food industry.

THRIVING DEMAND

It is not the first time for Zhang to buy imported food. She has always bought baby formula and fruit juice from foreign brands, as she does not think domestic brands are safe enough for her eight-month-old son.

"Considering contaminated farmland plus questionable production, I won't risk my baby's health," she says.

Zhang's concerns may sound extreme, but they are not groundless.

According to the ministries concerned, about 16 percent of all land surveyed and about a fifth of arable land is polluted by heavy metals such as cadmium, lead and mercury. About 3.33 million hectares of arable land, an area the size of Belgium, are not suitable for growing crops.

China's most notorious food safety scandal occurred in 2008, when six babies were killed and thousands became seriously ill as infant formula produced by Sanlu Group, then a leading dairy company in Zhang's hometown of Hebei, was found to contain the chemical melamine.

"Better quality, more choice and different taste, these are why I choose imported food," Zhang says.

Consumer demand for imported food is spurred by online shopping. With a few simple clicks, people can get almost anything from around the world delivered to their doorstep.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, there are more than 5,000 cross-border shopping websites, with total trade value estimated at 6.5 trillion yuan (945 billion U.S. dollars) in 2016. Annual growth of over 30 percent is expected in the next few years, and food is a major category on these websites.

Although retailers in physical stores are facing difficulties due to online shopping, imported food sales are on the rise. Data released by a chain store research institute in Shanghai shows sales of imported food surged to 54.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2015, up 70 percent year on year. Up to 60,000 types of food from 143 countries and regions were imported to China last year.

The Association of Food Industries of the U.S. estimates China will become the largest consumer of imported food in 2018, with a total market value up to 480 billion yuan on the Chinese mainland.

LOGISTIC SUPPORT

The booming food import market is an outcome of faster and cheaper logistics. Air delivery, for example, is needed for fresh foods such as seafood and fruit.

On November 23, a Boeing 777 aircraft carrying mangos and blueberries landed at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, the first ever direct-cargo flight between China and Peru.

An official with China Eastern Airlines said the air cargo route was launched to meet the increase in trade between China and Peru. Cargo between Asia and South America is normally transported via the United States.

According to China Eastern Air Logistics, a subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines, the number of direct cargo flights carrying South American agricultural products rocketed from two in 2013 to 70 this year. Total cargo volume increased from 220 to 6,500 tonnes.

Rail networks connecting China and European cities since 2011 are also favored by food importers.

By the end of June, a total of 1,881 trains had traveled on the network's 39 lines, connecting 16 Chinese cities with 12 foreign cities, bringing in around 17 billion U.S. dollars in trade.

"China-Europe trains, which take only one-third of the transport time of shipping and are one-fifth of the cost of air delivery, have offered a brand-new model for international logistics," said Zhong Cheng, deputy general manager of transport company China Railway Container.

Border control authorities in China have also been simplifying customs clearance procedures to have international packages delivered more efficiently.

"The Earth is like a small village where we have the most quality food with local characteristics from around the world. It feels amazing," said 35-year-old Zhang Hongwei in Shijiazhuang City.

FORCED TRANSFORMATION

The expanding imported food market has impacted the domestic food industry, forcing it to transform.

Huailai County, a traditional wine growing region dating back 1,200 years in northern China's Hebei Province, is today known as the birthplace of China's first dry white wine, sparkling wine and brandy. What was once a common scene has become rare in recent years, as grape farmers are reluctantly cutting down vines they have raised for decades as the demand is just not there.

"Strong competition from imported products has made life hard for us. We are less willing to continue the plantation," said 42-year-old Liang Xiaoqing, a local grape farmer.

Foreign wine has been pouring into China with sales surging every year. Exports of bottled wine to China reached 223 million liters in the first half of 2016, up 56 percent year on year, the highest increase since 2012, according to customs figures. About a quarter of wine consumed by Chinese over the past two years was produced overseas, and the share continues to grow.

According to Sun Yanyuan, a wine expert, the prevalence of small unknown domestic wine brands, and a series of scandals about the quality of wine from small and medium wineries that make 70 percent of Chinese grape wines, have driven consumers away from local brands.

For Chinese gourmands who embrace western lifestyles, wine culture is still an exotic fashion, so they prefer to pay for foreign brands. said Sun.

Liang said several big wine companies in Huailai are considering a merger in a bid to win back customers.

"The old way of working-on-our-own no longer works. We should work together and offer quality products under a unified standard," he said. "It's easy to cut grapevines, but the roots are still there." Endi