Wu Qiong is one happy woman. Her company’s potatoes finally made it to the Beijing’s Wu Mei Supermarket. This is a huge victory for the small Wuchuan company called the IMAR Grasslands Jinhe Ecological Farming Ltd. It’s something Wu never thought would

really happen four months ago when she came up with a vague idea to sell spuds in Beijing. As she admits, “all this success today is due to the support I got from the Small Farmers Adapting to Global Markets project – here I am middle-aged and they helped me build my career.”

Wu Qiong used to be an analyst for a stock-brokerage firm. Last May, she found out by

chance that an old friend was going to be conducting market research for table potatoes in Beijing – the activity was sponsored by the SFAGM project. Wu was intrigued and she decided to help her friend do the work. She got to visit farm produce retail and wholesale markets in the capital – and she got to talk to a lot of consumers. She found out that Wuchuan potatoes are well known among wholesalers. She also heard that Beijing consumers are keen for produce that is chemical-free, organic – or what is called in China “green” foods.

But Wu and her fellow researchers also discovered that there is no well-known brand of potatoes in the market, since the spuds are mostly sold in bulk. Wu knew she had found a great business opportunity: brand the potatoes and reap the profits!
 

She took part in the Small and Medium Size Enterprise Management Training program that was organized in Hohhot by SFAGM. And then she took off for Wuchuan where SFAGM is demonstrating the potato supply chain approach to quality assurance. Wuchuan county supplies close to 2% of China’s potatoes on some fifty thousand hectares (700,000 mu). But the production base and the market were not linked effectively – the

supply chain was interrupted and Wuchuan had no way to reap the rewards of its healthy production methods. Farmers weren’t getting the high price they deserved – and consumers didn’t know which potatoes to purchase to meet their safety and quality requirements.

This has all changed with Wu’s efforts. She figured out that with special packaging, Wuchuan could effectively brand its product. She discussed her idea with the SFAGM field coordinator in Wuchuan and got a lot of encouragement. He helped her develop the plastic package and its design; he suggested professionals be hired to take care of the

advertising and the marketing in Beijing supermarkets. And she got help registering her company officially.

But selling in Beijing is easier said than done. The ordering process, the brokers’ fees and the supermarkets’ payment procedures can be a real hurdle for newly established companies. Wu Qiong might have backed down without the support of SFAGM’s staff who told her how others had

succeeded. Says Wu: “ If it hadn’t been for SFAGM, I would have given up early in the game!”

All that hard work paid off the day her company got its first order from Beijing’s Wu Mei Supermarket. The bags of spuds clearly identified as “Grassland Jin He” went on sale over the National Holiday week.

Of course, it’s not the end of Wu’s struggles. There are many improvements needed to the management of their supply chain and she has to work hard to assure continued high quality supplies. But Wu is not afraid of hard work. “I will organize farmers to produce an organic potato that will win the Ministry of Agriculture “Green Food” certification – that way we’ll meet the market demand for safe food and bring benefits to the farmers. I want the Wuchuan potato to become a famous brand in China.”