China adds potatoes as a food staple to improve food supply, nutrition

The potato will soon be the Chinese people's latest staple after rice, wheat and corn, and 50 percent of the annual production of potatoes will be consumed as staple food by 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) announced on Tuesday.

China will turn potatoes into noodles, steamed bread and other staple food products, converting potatoes to a series of manufactured goods, leading to a healthier diet, according to the MOA.

The advance of potatoes as another staple food was consistent with the government's policy of adjusting the agriculture structure to achieve sustainable development, Yu Xinrong, a deputy director of the MOA, said at a meeting.

"It was an attempt to ensure food security, ease the pressure on the environment and increase the income of farmers," Yu said.

The meeting also vowed to make a "distinct" increase in potato production in the next few years. Meanwhile, popularizing the consumption of potatoes would not compromise the existing cultivated land for wheat, rice and corn, the meeting emphasized.

Experts suggested that techniques of processing potatoes be improved. They also called for a campaign to promote the consumption of potatoes.

A Sina Weibo discussion on the new role of potatoes has received 56.5 million hits as of press time, with opinions divided.

Many potato-lovers supported the policy, while others doubted if the policy is a result of inadequate production of traditional staple food in China.

Liu Lan, the general secretary of the China Dietitian Association, admitted that China is under pressure with a huge population but limited farmland, which hence make potatoes a perfect supplement to the present staple food system of China.

"As the vegetable is easy to grow even in barren land, it would also guarantee food supply. The potato as a staple food is a good suggestion. It is of higher nutritional value compared with rice and wheat flour, which lose considerable dietary fiber and nutrients during processing," Liu said.

"The decision would encourage the increased planting of potatoes and bring some improvements to the food processing industry specializing in potato production, but this would require greater government support," Guo Baoqing, the deputy director of the datacenter of cngran.com, told the Global Times.

Guo said the greatest challenge is changing the consumption habits of the Chinese people. "With abundant production of traditional staple food in China, most people still eat rice or wheat. It will take much longer before people change their eating habits," Guo added.