Sweet potato has been cultivated in China for 400 years. According to the Food & Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, China’s total annual production for 2014 amounted to 71 million tons, accounting for about 67% of total world production.
The majority of China’s sweet potato crop is used as animal feed and for the production of starch. Consumption of sweet potato as a staple food has dramatically declined in recent decades, from an estimated 50% of total production in the 1970s to less than 10% nowadays. Total production has grown. But as people's incomes have risen, sweet potato has also become a less popular choice on the menu.
“The trend of eating sweet potatoes is coming back,” laughs Jenny Ma, the director of Shandong Jining Green Living. “There are many sweet potato roasting stalls every where in cities. These are attracting more and more sweet potato lovers. People in China are beginning to understand that sweet potatoes are a unique and healthy food. Demand for fresh potatoes has been increasing in recent years. We are also receiving more inquiries from buyers in Japan, South Korea, the Middle East and Europe. We can export sweet potatoes all year around”.
Shangdong Jining Green Living is located in the city of Jining in Shandong Province. Shandong is one of the major sweet potato growing areas in China. Harvest runs from August to October and the crop can be exported all year around. Different sweet potato varieties are grown, including red skinned, yellow skinned and purple skinned.
