Reliable crop performance supports success in China’s high-end channels

Climate challenges

As one of the world’s five biggest countries by land mass, China poses a number of specific challenges for fruit and vegetable growers. The country’s climate is extremely varied by region, and conventional varieties do not always perform equally well in each region. For example, a variety that performs stably on the Northwest Plateau often fails to maintain consistent quality when introduced in subtropical South China. And even within a specific climate region, frequent temperature fluctuations in early spring and late autumn can trigger premature bolting in crops such as cabbage.

Avoiding supply disruptions

“Early bolting is the primary production risk for us, as it completely strips the product of commercial value and disrupts scheduled delivery plans,” says Xiaomei Yang, Director of the Agricultural Department at Shenzhen Maoxiong Industrial Co Ltd. As a leading full-chain enterprise serving high-end supermarkets, foodservice customers and distributors in China as well as in more than 30 export countries, the company requires stable and predictable supply capacity all year round. “Our core customers have fixed weekly procurement volumes. To avoid supply disruptions, we implement staggered planting and continuous harvesting across our ten cultivation facilities in multiple climate zones. We need to be able to depend on standardised and consistent quality across all our bases.”

Deep technical guidance

In this context, Shenzhen Maoxiong is very impressed with the performance of Rijk Zwaan’s oxheart cabbage variety, Teama 30-603. After trialling the variety three years ago, the company subsequently introduced it on a large scale, supported by localised full-cycle services from Rijk Zwaan’s technical experts. “We have always regarded Rijk Zwaan as a deeply integrated strategic partner, not just a seed supplier. Rather than offering generic, one-size-fits-all guidance, they went deep into our planting bases in the different regions, providing targeted sowing schedules and detailed cultivation plans based on local climate and soil conditions,” recalls Xiaomei Yang.

Higher marketable yield

“Teama has excellent cold tolerance, significantly reducing the risk of premature bolting caused by low-temperature vernalisation in early-spring and late-autumn plantings,” states Xiaomei Yang. “Its harvest window is 7-10 days longer than traditional varieties. This allows us to achieve continuous year-round supply and fulfil our long-term delivery contracts through flexible staggered sowing and multi-base coordination.” With resistance to Fusarium as well as tolerance to tipburn, Teama 30-603 provides Shenzhen Maoxiong with a higher marketable yield due to a significantly lower rate of defective products in the field.

Praised by customers

Additionally, thanks to its uniform pointed head shape and highly consistent size and weight, this oxheart cabbage has also greatly improved efficiency on Shenzhen Maoxiong’s fresh-cut processing lines. “Manual sorting time has been reduced by approximately 20%, and the premium product rate has increased significantly, perfectly matching the standardised pre-packaging requirements of retail channels,” continues Xiaomei Yang.
“Moreover, the variety’s bright yellow inner leaf colour, outstanding sweet taste and long shelf life match the recently raised requirements in our sales markets. These qualities have been widely praised by catering customers and fresh-cut end consumers, helping our products achieve a certain price premium in high-end channels,” she adds.

15% reduction in logistics costs

Another consequence of the size of China is that the company’s distribution network spans very long distances. “Most of our main bases are located in the Northwest and Southwest production areas, so products require 3-5 days of cold-chain transport to reach the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay area,” says Xiaomei Yang. “Traditional oxheart cabbage has thin, tender outer leaves, commonly leading to problems such as water loss, leaf shedding and mechanical damage during transport. Thanks to Teama’s tough outer leaves and good water retention, post-harvest losses have dropped by about 15%, directly reducing our overall logistics costs and improving end-market shelf performance.” Rijk Zwaan helped Shenzhen Maoxiong to maximise the variety's advantages in processing and logistics by also providing professional advice on harvest timing and post-harvest handling.

Forward-looking cooperation

Thanks to its reliable and sustainable performance, Rijk Zwaan’s Teama 30-603 is perfectly suited for full-chain enterprises to carry out multi-region, multi-cropping cultivation and automated processing, sorting and pre-packaging, according to Xiaomei Yang. “When we see our upgraded oxheart cabbage highly recognised by customers, we truly feel this is a forward-looking, win-win cooperation – especially because our stable supply capacity is helping us secure more long-term contracts with core channels,” she says.

Tailored solutions

Following on from the success of Teama 30-603, she is looking forward to attending the upcoming Asia Fruit Logistica to find more practical ideas for variety upgrades and supply chain efficiency improvements. “The event is a great way to connect with high-quality global fresh produce partners such as Rijk Zwaan, and to find new ways of delivering real value to operators based on professional cultivation solutions tailored for the Asian market,” concludes Xiaomei Yang.

Join us at Asia Fruit Logistica

At Rijk Zwaan, we believe that care turns clients into partners. Visit us at Stand 05A02 during Asia Fruit Logistica from 2-4 September to discover how Rijk Zwaan’s solutions help improve supply security, increase efficiency, reduce waste and unlock growth opportunities for our fresh produce chain partners. See you in Hong Kong!