China - January 21, 2025 Food processing factories in China's Henan serve growing, diverse markets (Voice_over) This is Tangyuan, a traditional Chinese glutinous rice ball. And a staggering 900 million of them are being sold around the world every single year. The production lines at Synear Food, in Zhengzhou, central China’s Henan province, tell us everything about this food’s resounding success. Only a few workers are needed to feed the prepared dough and fillings into the processing machines. The rest is fully automated. (Sound_bite) Shi Yuanwei, Manager of Public Affairs, Synear Food: "We keep developing and producing various new products through innovation. We want to make traditional frozen food, trendy delicacies on the dining table and meet the needs of a diverse consumer base." (Voice_over) Synear Food has an annual production capacity of over 900,000 tonnes, accounting for more than one fourth of China's frozen food market. One key factor in the success is cutting-edge technology. Automated production lines ensure that products meet the highest standards and ensure food safety standards are also met. (Sound_bite) Zhang Guozhi, Professor, Henan University of Technology: "If calculated based on manual labor, it would require 50,000 to 60,000 workers to achieve such a capacity. Now, with the use of automated and intelligent equipment, the process only requires a few thousand workers." (Voice_over) The agricultural processing industry is a pillar of Henan's economy. As of October 2024, Henan had a total of 6,103 agricultural product processing enterprises, each with an annual revenue of over 20 million yuan. (Sound_bite) Dou Yanyan, Vice manager, Henan Haoxiangni Jujube: "We have created jobs for several thousand frontline production workers, providing them with stable and diverse employment opportunities." (Voice_over) Henan Province has only one-seventeenth of the nation's arable land. But it produces one-tenth of the country's grain and more than a quarter of its wheat, making it a "super grain warehouse” of China. Now it has also gained recognition for its robust food processing sector. With a focus on grain, meat, and dairy processing, Henan’s factories are now producing goods that are in high demand both domestically and internationally. [Restriction: No access Chinese mainland]