Organic food is becoming safer, more nutritious and more environmentally friendly, said Xiao Xingji, State Environmental Protection Administration organic food development center chief.

Xiao said on Monday's "International Vegetables and Food Exhibition Forum" that prior to 1999, there was basically no organic food for sale in Chinese mainland markets. Since then, China's organic food markets have been developing rapidly.

At present, in supermarkets in numerous major Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, people can conveniently shop for organic foods. What is currently offered in China's markets that are organic are primarily fresh vegetables, tea leaves, rice, fruits and honey.

It was learned that in supermarkets in Beijing and Shanghai, the cost of organic vegetables is three to five times that for ordinary vegetables, with the highest costing seven times more, but these organic items still sell quite well.

The vast majority of China's organic food is produced in the eastern coastal area and various provinces in the northeast. China has already developed 19 broad types and more than 300 varieties of organic foods including vegetables, tea leaves, grains, oils, fruits, honey, Chinese herbal medicine, marine products, farm animals and condiments.

According to incomplete statistics, China currently has 4.5 million mu (742,500 acres) of land that has been certified for organic farming and organic food collection in the wild covers an area exceeding 300,000 hectares.

(Chinanews.cn September 26, 2005)