• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Changchun Builds Nation's Largest Corn Industry Base

Posted on: Thursday, 2 March 2006, 21:00 CST

By He Na

Changchun, capital of Northeast China's Jilin Province, has made great strides in developing the corn industry, echoing the province's strategy to promote the industry into an economic pillar.

As the nation's main grain production base, Jilin's total grain production hit 25.81 million tons last year. Corn production alone reached 19 million tons.

Jilin's per capita grain output and total grain sales volume to other provinces has ranked the highest in China for many years.

The grain processing industry, the province's third pillar industry, has also seen rapid development. Its total industrial income reached 100.28 billion yuan (US$12.47 billion) last year.

"To fully implement the province's industrial revitalization strategy, Changchun has its advantages in a sound industrial foundation, well-developed infrastructure and well-educated human resources," said an official of the Jilin provincial government.

Changchun municipal government has decided to develop the Changchun Corn Industry Park, where a large corn-based chemical project of the Dacheng Industry Group is well in operation, into a world-leading corn industry park for corn processing.

Founded last October and covering 41.9 square kilometres, the park is situated in the Changchun Economic and Technological Development Zone, the city's State-level economic and technological development zone in its southwest-northeast industrial belt.

"The corn park has become a core in the zone and an important part of the zone's expansion project," said Huang Wenhua, director of the Administrative Committee of the Changchun Economic and Technological Development Zone.

The city government has an ambitious plan with the development of the Dacheng Industry Group, the park is expected to become the largest corn-based chemicals park in China, and is expected to promote the corn sector into a pillar sector at par with the city's competitive auto industry.

Visionary strategy

The visionary strategy of corn industry growth in Jilin and Changchun and the development of the Changchun Corn Industry Park are of significant importance for Jilin as well as China, Huang said.

First, the annual corn output in Jilin has amounted to 18 million tons in recent years, ranking first in the nation. However, trade, transport and storage of corn products are headaches for local governments at different levels.

To solve the problems, the provincial government is working to develop the corn-based chemical industry, aiming to develop a link between farmers, processing enterprises and distributors.

"The establishment of the park, where the flagship corn industry project of Dacheng is situated, is an important effort of the city to implement the province's strategy," Huang noted.

Dacheng is a leading enterprise in Jilin engaged in grain planting, purchasing and processing. It has established firm partnerships with farmers and has well-developed sales channels and state-of-the-art technology.

The integrated production, marketing, management and transportation capabilities of the group have solved problems faced by farmers and governments.

Second, the development of the corn industry can help relieve the burden of domestic petroleum supply.

Currently, China is the second largest petroleum consumer and importer in the world. Imported petroleum in China accounts for 40 per cent of the nation's oil consumption.

In the future, polyol generated from corn is expected to replace petroleum, Huang said.

It is estimated that by 2015, polyol production in the park will surge to 3.2 million tons, meaning 25 to 26 million tons of crude oil every year.

Polyol is also a major raw material for many chemical products.

Statistics show that domestic demand for synthetic chemical materials, fibre, rubber and some basic chemical materials and fine chemicals grows by 40 per cent every year.

It is estimated that by 2010, the market demand for ethylene will hit 25.5 million tons, synthetic rubber 3.4 million tons, and synthetic fibre 24 million tons in China.

The development of the corn industry will satisfy the demand for raw materials for those chemical products.

Third, the production of corn-based chemicals will be conducive to the development of a recycled economy, which is an important economic model promoted by the central government to realize economical utilization of resources.

Besides, the advanced facilities of the corn park can help enterprises realize efficient utilization of power, heat and water, reduce energy consumption and improve operational efficiency.

Also, the city plans to promote the corn industry to optimize its industrial structure, as part of its efforts to accelerate the industrial revitalization campaign.

At present, the auto industry accounts for 80 per cent of Changchun's industrial output.

"Development of the corn industry is an important move to enhance the city's industrial strength and seek sustainable development, apart from its competitive auto industry," Huang said.

The southwest of Changchun has a number of auto industry enterprises, and many of them are the branches and spare part suppliers of the First Automobile Works, the leading auto group in the province as well as the country.

The corn park is located in the northeast of the city, which boasts well-developed facilities, including railways, highways and an airport.

Profile

Changchun is located in the hinterland of Northeast China and is the geographical centre for four important cities of the region Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province, Dalian a coastal city in Liaoning, Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province and itself.

The corn industry, as well as chemicals and other downstream industries, have become the new investment hotspots of the city.

The sector has also created job opportunities for more than 200,000 people in Changchun, Huang added.

In addition, the competence of the industries has driven economic growth in surrounding areas such as some corn production bases in Changtu in Liaoning Province, Tongliao in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Wuchang in Heilongjiang Province.

The State-level Changchun Economic and Technological Development Zone, set up in April 1993, enjoys the same preferential policies as the country's coastal cities.

To date, auto parts, grain processing, optical electronics and biological pharmaceutical industries have become economic pillars in the zone.

A total of 83 multinationals from 27 countries have invested in the zone.

Also, 28 companies out of the Fortune 500 firms such as Dupont and Toyota have run large projects there.

The zone offers optimized services to investors and has passed the ISO14000 accreditation. ISO14000 is an internationally practised environment management system.

Source: China Daily; North American ed.

More News in this Category