1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 472 The Export Order Arrives
In the somewhat messy office, Qu Jingtai stood by his desk, holding a faxed document from Japan.

"Cypermethrin, cypermethrin... The Japanese are deliberately nitpicking!"

"Manager Qu, the client says the purpose of revising the Food Hygiene Law is to restrict Shandong spinach; other leafy vegetables are just being affected. Is there any way we can make some adjustments?"

"You're going to go to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare?" Qu Taiji sighed. "It's no use. Since there are regulations, we can only follow them."

He took two steps in place and said, "Contact Li Jiyong and the others for me, and get the cypermethrin residue down as soon as possible."

Soon, the phone rang in the office, and Qu Jingtai roared repeatedly.

"I'll give you a maximum of one month!"

"You can't do it?! If you can't do it, then don't do it!"

"Reduce the planting area of ​​leafy vegetables and grow other vegetables? That's possible, but leafy vegetables are our main focus, and we can't give them up!"

"Furthermore, besides leafy greens, how many other vegetables are available for export to the Japanese market?"

Au Tai Kee has been operating in the Japanese market for at least five or six years. This country's agricultural market relies on imports, but its people are very xenophobic.

Besides leafy greens and root vegetables, there are many restrictions on other vegetables, and some domestic vegetables are even facing export bans.

For example, Japan's Plant Quarantine Law prohibits the import of fresh cucumbers and tomatoes from China. Only processed products such as cucumber dips and tomato sauce can be imported. Of course, fresh vegetables are also exported, but the threshold is high and the quantity is small. More often, processed products are exported.

The same applies to South Korea.

These are also the contents of China's negotiations for joining the WTO.

Therefore, for Qu Jingtai, apart from leafy greens, all that's left are snow peas, radishes, carrots, and other vegetables that are either not very diverse or that he's not good at growing.

Japan is currently the most important overseas market for Au Tai Kee. They have wholesale business, and in the past two months they have also opened up channels with department stores and supermarkets. They are riding high right now.

Now that the Food Sanitation Law has been amended, leafy greens from Japanese channels are at least temporarily obsolete, but farm production will not stop, especially now that it's October, which is the peak season for vegetable production.

In Shenzhen, Dongguan, Panyu, Conghua... Au Tai Kee has invested in many vegetable markets in mainland China over the past two years. Originally, the decline of the Hong Kong market and the Southeast Asian financial crisis led to excessive sales pressure, but recent national policies encouraging exports have helped to revive their business.
However, Japan's counterattack was also very sharp.

With a total vegetable market area of ​​nearly 5000 mu, how are we going to sell all these vegetables?!

...

Yang Jianzun, who was from Yu, had lost weight and looked somewhat haggard. He was also paying attention to the situation in Japan and remained silent.

Also benefiting from export tax rebates and various subsidies, jade's export business in Southeast Asia has recovered somewhat.

They also have some business in Japan, and it has grown quite rapidly in the last two or three months.

In addition, the stalls rented in Yuexiu Market are gradually starting to do well.

All of this helped Congyu gradually recover.

“Cypermethrin…” Yang Jianzun muttered to himself, then said to Chang Hao, who was waiting, “Has Kaopu Fresh been affected? I remember they also have business in Japan.”

Chang Hao was stunned. He hadn't expected that the chairman would pay attention to the situation of Kaopu Fresh first after learning the news.

Yang Jianzun then asked, "Didn't you understand?"

"I've already arranged for someone to inquire, but it won't be that quick," Chang Hao said. In recent months, reliable fresh food has become a source of obsession for Cong Yu, and Chang Hao naturally knows what his superior is concerned about.

"Chairman, what should we do now?"

Yang Jianzun rubbed his forehead and said, "Have the production team control the cypermethrin residue as soon as possible, and reduce shipments to the Japanese market for now."

Having suffered many setbacks, Yang Jianzun has become indifferent to joy and sorrow. Moreover, the Japanese market accounts for a relatively small proportion of the jade market.

Now, jade is being developed through multiple channels simultaneously, including exports, supply to Hong Kong, and the mainland. Life is tough, but we have to grit our teeth and persevere.

...

Meanwhile, in addition to the Pearl River Delta, many domestic leafy vegetables exported to Japan have been frequently returned due to cypermethrin residue issues.

This is a blow to domestic vegetable export bases, and also to Japanese companies that have import needs, as many buyers are unable to find suitable goods.

The same is true of Eishin Co., Ltd., where Yasuo Ueda works. It originally mainly imported leafy vegetables such as romaine lettuce, bok choy, lettuce, and choy sum from China.

Due to stricter customs and quarantine measures, several batches of goods have failed to clear customs, leaving Yung-Chin Co., Ltd. facing a situation where it has no vegetables to sell.

Yasuo Ueda walks through Tokyo's Ota Market, which is still very busy.

However, businesses that import leafy vegetables were generally experiencing a bit of a slowdown. As he turned a corner, Yasuo Ueda stopped. A shop ahead was doing very well.

He remembered that Qingguo Co., Ltd. was also an importer. This year's broccoli was outstanding, and the supply of leafy vegetables had been very stable.

Two more cabinets of leafy greens arrived today... Wait, Yasuo Ueda's eyes widened. Why are there leafy greens in green fruit?

Don't they also import from China?
Yasuo Ueda was not the only one to notice the anomaly at Qingguo Co., Ltd.; many people realized that there were other Chinese vegetable companies that could meet the requirements of the revised Food Sanitation Law.

...

As the impact of cypermethrin gradually unfolds, the Tokyo office of Kaopu Fresh has been welcoming more and more customers.

Ueda Yasuo was one of the first to arrive. After listening to his introduction, Fang Shaohua said, "I'm sorry, we already have a partner in Daejeon Market."

Ueda Yasuo said urgently, "Sir, don't be in such a hurry to refuse. We can offer a more competitive price. You can listen to it first."

"This is not a matter of price; our cooperation with Qingguo is very solid."

"Romaine lettuce is $1500 per ton!"

"Just romaine lettuce?"

Seeing that the other party had relented, Yasuo Ueda relaxed a little. As long as there was something to talk about, things would be fine.

"We also need lettuce, at the same price of $1500 per ton!"

Fang Shaohua felt that the price was very reasonable, and Qingguo Company always gets relatively little romaine lettuce. As for lettuce, the market will have more stock recently and in the future, so it's still enough to eat.

“Okay, we can try to cooperate.”

"it is good!"

Yasuo Ueda bowed deeply in excitement. After searching for a while, he finally found the place near the market.

From the chat, he learned that the other party was Qingguo's supplier. He also saw their complete testing records and certificates, and understood that the other party had passed the import and export quarantine department's inspection by relying on hard indicators.

This also means that the other party did not get away with it by chance, and the subsequent supply will be very stable.

Right now, this is an opportunity to make money.

Therefore, he did not hesitate to quote a high price.

Fang Shaohua just wanted to say that it would be best to have more customers like this, and then they really did come. The office had customers coming in for consultations almost every day.

Without exception, these people all wanted to buy vegetables and quoted competitive prices.

Fang Shaohua agreed to some of the offers, but firmly refused others, and his client orders continued to be sent back to China.

A thriving vegetable market.

Ao Dehai walked in a corner of the vegetable market, where more than ten workers were busy harvesting Shanghai bok choy. Picking, removing roots, and packing boxes, the workers were quick and efficient, and boxes of Shanghai bok choy were soon filled and shipped out.

He then moved on to the next spot, where several male workers were mixing leafy vegetable seeds with organic fertilizer and sowing them evenly on the land.

Starting in September, the high temperatures in Shanghai gradually subsided, ushering in the golden period for the growth of leafy green vegetables.

Harvesting and sowing are carried out simultaneously every day.

To ensure production progress, Ao Dehai also adjusted his work schedule, starting work an hour earlier in the morning and leaving get off work later in the evening, all in an effort to gain more time for sowing and harvesting.

Currently, the 1000-mu planting base has no gaps at all, with leafy greens such as bok choy, Shanghai bok choy, lettuce, Chinese cabbage, and romaine lettuce all in different growth stages.

Some have grown into a lush green, with leaves spread out and growing vigorously; others have just sprouted tiny buds.

From sowing to harvest, the time is generally controlled within 30 days, with one crop following another in close succession.

Even so, Ao Dehai felt that there were not enough vegetables to sell.

"Manager Ao, another order has come in!"

"Again?!" Ao Dehai asked, "How many this time?"

"There are a total of 6 containers of goods. 3 containers need to be shipped the day after tomorrow, and the other 3 containers need to be shipped on Saturday."

"We're too busy."

"Uh... how do I reply to the room manager?"

"Let me go call for backup first."

Ao Dehai rode his bicycle to the office, knowing that his boss had done the right thing again, just like many times before.

He was able to learn the boss's vegetable-growing skills, and even with increasingly stringent pesticide use, he could still grow beautiful vegetables with close crop rotation and restore yields to their peak.

But the boss's market acumen is something he may never learn. "Hey, boss, there are too many orders from Japan, the prosperous vegetable market can't handle it." Ao Dehai was afraid that the boss would say "even if you can't handle it, you have to," then he would be helpless.

Chen Jiazhi said, "I haven't seen you transfer any orders for so long. I thought you were so great. You finally realized you should share your orders. You can have the meat, but you should let other markets have some too!"

Having been lectured, Ao Dehai breathed a sigh of relief. He had indeed been greedy, using all the portion intended for domestic sales for export.

"We've had so many orders these past few days."

"Okay, send the fax over, and I'll arrange the allocation."

"Row."

Shanghai is closer to Japan, which saves on transportation costs, so Chen Jiazhi actually prefers to ship from the Fanrong Market.

However, the two bases in Pudong New Area and MH District are still under construction and it will be some time before they start producing vegetables. A single prosperous vegetable market cannot support such a large Japanese market.

Fortunately, Heli Farm and Jiangxin Vegetable Market can now make their efforts.

Heli Farm's 2500-mu leafy vegetable base, plus 1500 mu of leafy vegetables sown after the rice harvest, and 900 mu of land in Jiangxin Vegetable Farm, totaling 4900 mu of base, are eagerly awaiting development.

In addition, Holly is also expanding.

Japan's targeting came a little too early, and the orders came in a bit too early, but now the shift from prosperity to the Pearl River Delta is just right.

Chen Jiazhi left the office and said to Ye Junfei at his workstation, "Pay attention to faxes from Shanghai. Call me immediately if any orders from Japan arrive. I'm going to the countryside."

"Okay, boss."

Ye Junfei looked up and replied. Not long after, he received the documents from Shanghai.

Holy crap, so many!

"What's wrong, Junfei? Do you have a lot of export orders?"

Ye Junfei's use of profanity caught the attention of clerk Wen Rong and accountant Jiang Xiaoyan, who both came over.

"A total of 6 orders, 120 tons of vegetables, that's quite a lot!"

"Wow~ Look at the price per unit, $1500 per ton, Junfei, how much does that cost per kilogram?"

"Six or seven yuan!"

Ye Junfei was very surprised. The order came too suddenly, and the price was very high, more than 10 times the stall price. Even after deducting all costs, there was still a substantial profit.

He immediately called his boss to report the situation.

However, this was just the beginning; he made several calls in one afternoon.

The work continued on the second and third days... It was as if the export business had suddenly unlocked its full potential, bursting forth with tremendous vitality.

At this point, many people still didn't understand what had happened.

Chen Jiazhi drove to Paitan Town, where it was harvest season. The rice was golden, the fruits were mouthwatering, and the Heli No. 2 Farm was lush and green.

He honked the horn a few times, and Yi Dinggan and Wu Yong, who were wearing straw hats, turned around and looked at him with a slightly puzzled look in their eyes, as if they were wondering why he had come to the market today.

Chen Jiazhi got out of the car, a smile playing on his lips.

Yi Dinggan walked towards him and tentatively asked, "The Japanese order has arrived?"

"coming."

"How many have come?"

“A lot, probably tens or hundreds of tons a day, and it’s still increasing.”

"How much does it cost per pound?"

"Romaine lettuce and romaine lettuce are priced at $1500 per ton. With export tax rebates and subsidies, they can be converted to 6.8 yuan per kilogram. Other vegetables such as bok choy, Chinese kale, Shanghai bok choy, and baby bok choy are also priced around the same."

Yi Dinggan opened his mouth slightly, subconsciously took out a cigarette case from his bag, his hand trembling slightly as he took out the cigarettes, while his other hand was still touching for a lighter.

"Use mine."

Chen Jiazhi lit cigarettes for Yi Dinggan and Wu Yong, smiled, and said, "We shouldn't lose money this month."

After taking a couple of deep drags on his cigarette, Yi Dinggan finally caught his breath. Gazing at the rows of vegetables in the field, he asked, "Do you know how many vegetables we have?"

Chen Jiazhi leaned against the car and looked out over the endless vegetable fields, saying, "Although I haven't been here much lately, I still have a good idea of ​​how many vegetables there are."

Yi Dinggan added, "If we can export at this price, one mu of lettuce can sell for 27,000 yuan. Do you know what that means?"

Chen Jiazhi said, "That means one mu of land can sell for 27,000 yuan in about 30 days, which means one mu of lettuce can yield 4000 jin... Wow, lettuce yield is that high?"

"Yeah, turning over and shaping lettuce heads doesn't work in the summer, but things have improved this month. Every single lettuce is growing really big," Yi Dinggan muttered. "We're going to make a fortune again!"

This brought another pleasant surprise. Chen Jiazhi laughed and said, "We've been working so hard to control pesticide residues for the past few months, haven't we been waiting for this day? It's like drinking tea; first comes the bitterness, then the sweetness."

"That's the truth."

Yi Dinggan stubbed out his cigarette after smoking only half of it and said, "Wu Yong, we need to adjust our schedules and start working overtime. We need to manage both sowing and harvesting at the same time."

As long as the favorable conditions for exports to Japan remain, we cannot afford to slack off in production!

Wu Yong replied loudly, "Yes, I'll go and notify them of the adjustment right away!"

That sparked a lot of passion.

After Wu Yong left, Yi Dinggan turned back to Chen Jiazhi and said, "So that's why you suddenly came to the market without saying a word. So you came to show your face because you were going to eat meat, right? Why didn't you come more often in the past two months?"

Chen Jiazhi said with a smile, "I'm here to share in the good news. Besides, now that the market problem is solved, maintaining production is naturally the most important thing."

"You don't need to tell me, I will definitely do my best. These 4,000 acres of land will not be left uncultivated for even a day."

"The production of late-season bok choy can't be delayed either!"

"Don't worry, I've been holding it in for two months, just waiting to vent my anger!"

Since March, they have been working hard to improve their internal capabilities, followed by the quality standard system, reducing pesticides and fertilizers to improve quality. During this period, they also encountered the financial crisis. After a series of events, the market managers were in a hurry to vent their frustration.

From afternoon until dark, Chen Jiazhi drove Yi Dinggan to visit all three fields: Paitan, Zhengguo, and Xiaolou.

Each farm announced adjustments to its work schedule and a full-scale planting and harvesting effort when they closed for the day.

The next day, Heli Farm seemed to have changed dramatically. The vegetable market under the sunlight was dotted with workers bending over to harvest vegetables, cutting, packing, and moving them... Tricycles drove one after another towards the cold storage.

Such a bustling scene is very inspiring.

Chen Jiazhi drove his Cherokee, memorizing the scene, before heading to Jiangxin Market.

Panyu has a lower terrain and the Jiangxin Market is closer to the sea, making it more susceptible to typhoons and rainstorms in July and August.

Jiangxin vegetable market has suffered from disasters for two consecutive years, and this year it has been further plagued by pests and diseases.

Chen Jiazhi felt that Qi Yongfeng had grown.

He can't learn by being taught, but he can learn by doing. Qi Yongfeng is probably the most "composed" of the several farm managers now.

When Chen Jiazhi and the others talked, they at least associated it with terms like "gambling on the market."

Qi Yongfeng didn't mention it once; all he cared about now was how to produce vegetables stably and sustainably while controlling pesticide residues.

Jiangxin Market is also the market that has tried the most new technologies among all the markets.

There were Chinese cabbages covered with domestically made insect-proof netting, and romaine lettuce with yellow sticky insect traps inserted in the vegetable beds. Insecticidal lamps were also being installed along the edges of each plot, and there were comparative planting experiments on various varieties resistant to diseases and pests...

It can be said that he has tried all the methods mentioned in the quality standard system, and he is also trying those that are not mentioned.

The effects of climate change are now very evident.

The most commonly grown vegetable at Jiangxin Market is Chinese cabbage, which is mainly supplied to delivery services and stalls.

Chen Jiazhi drove around the farm and couldn't find any fault with it. He probably couldn't have done it as well if he were to grow it. Although he was particular about which pesticides to use, he was used to using pesticides to solve problems.

He might not have the patience to use insect nets, sticky traps, and insecticidal lamps on such a large scale.

After inspecting the fields, Chen Jiazhi and Qi Yongfeng went to the testing center, where technicians brought the testing records from the past two weeks.

"Not only cypermethrin, but more than half of the test indicators at Jiangxin vegetable market can now be controlled below 0.01ppm. Some test items may still need two or three years to be specifically improved."

"Yeah, very good."

Chen Jiazhi praised the efforts, saying that it was no easy feat to achieve this level of success in Guangdong. He noted that reducing pesticide use in hot and humid weather was not only difficult but also mentally taxing.

This might seem like overkill now, but it's invaluable experience in dealing with future changes in the situation.

Similarly, Chen Jiazhi also assigned Jiangxin Vegetable Market the task of exporting orders to Japan, which revitalized the old market that had been dormant for some time.

(End of this chapter)