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China’s deep-processed agri-goods fuel higher-value trade growth_我的网站
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Chinese plush toys, new-energy vehicles and robots often grab global headlines. Beyond the spotlight, however, many unassuming Chinese exports are quietly making great gains in markets around the world.
Recently, 14,040 specific pathogen free (SPF) eggs, also known as "diamond eggs" and prized as a critical raw material for vaccine research, took off from Beijing Daxing International Airport and landed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In the first half of 2026 alone, exports of Beijing-produced SPF eggs topped 400,000 units, soaring 254 percent year-on-year. Their export value exceeded 3.8 million yuan ($563,364), up 166 percent year-on-year. Both figures already surpassed the full-year total for 2025, according to statistics from the Beijing customs.
"Diamond eggs" are not alone. Many processed farm goods from various regions across China, ranging from loofahs to new corn-based synthetic fibers to "icy persimmons," are reaching consumers in many countries and regions around the world, with rising export volumes.
Behind the headline numbers lies a quiet change: China is no longer content to ship out raw apples, live fish, or unprocessed grain. It is climbing the value chain - turning farmyard staples into high-value, shelf-ready products for markets around the world, Zhu Qiucheng, CEO of Ningbo New Oriental Electric Industrial Development, told the Global Times.
New e-commerce stars
In Shangcheng County, Central China's Henan Province, the loofahs once lived a quiet life next to the stove - serving as kitchen scrubbers. Today they are a cross-border e-commerce star.
"We have built processing factories, design teams and unified procurement systems that link agricultural cooperatives and farmers across dozens of villages, turning sponge gourds - a traditional side crop - into a scalable, export-oriented industry," a sales manager at Yuangeng Longshang, a local producer and exporter of sponge gourd-related products, told the Global Times.
Processors in Shangcheng have developed more than 60 loofah product lines - ranging from bath sponges and kitchen scrubbers to pet toys and cultural-creative items - and sell them via Amazon, AliExpress, Temu and other platforms to more than 50 countries and regions, according to media reports.
In the first half of 2026, Shangcheng's e-commerce transaction volume of loofah-made products exceeded 30 million yuan, up 35 percent year-on-year. At present, the annual comprehensive output value of the loofah industry in the county has exceeded 100 million yuan.
Apart from sponge gourds, corn has also found a new way to become cloth.
"Unlike traditional synthetic fibers made from petroleum, the core ingredient of our flagship Sorona-based series comes from corn," Hong Boqi, general manager of Chuanyue New Material Co, a domestic cloth supplier, told the Global Times.
The process of making Sorona starts by fermenting corn sugars to extract Bio-PDO (a bio-based chemical building block, essentially a plant-derived version of the molecule used in certain plastics). This is then polymerized and spun into yarn and finished fabric.
The company has independently developed more than 300 Sorona fabric varieties, said Hong.
The firm is also exploring seaweed. Working with a domestic biotech partner, it created an "ice algae mud" functional fabric. Natural seaweed is finely ground and combined with a composite powder made from nephrite, then processed through a specialized spinning method. The finished textile is designed for recycling, reinforcing its green credentials.
Behind these advances lie years of patient research and development. Chuanyue invests about 4 million yuan annually in early-stage material development, covering the full journey from lab innovation to finished fabric, said Hong.
Innovative ways
Apart from being processed into industrial products, Chinese fresh fruits and vegetables are also processed in innovative ways to reach global consumers.
For example, Hainan Nicepal Industry Co is not simply selling fresh fruit. Instead, it uses advanced spray-drying technology to turn fresh fruits into fruit powders, concentrated juices, and not-from-concentrate (NFC) purees.
Pan Fengying, deputy general manager of the Hainan-based company, said that the company's output value reached 600 million yuan last year, and this year's target is 1.2 to 1.5 billion yuan, according to local media.
And in Yi County, North China's Hebei Province, fresh fruit that once spoiled quickly or fetched rock-bottom seasonal prices is now processed into "icy persimmons," which made exports easier.
In April 2026, the first batch of 15,000 persimmons was sent to Toronto, Canada. In the first half of this year, the sales volume of the ice-ripened persimmons in the county increased eightfold compared to the previous year; the annual production is expected to be 20 times that of last year, local authorities said.
Through controlled processes of de-astringency, sugaring and rapid freezing, the fruit develops a creamy, ice-cream-like texture while retaining its natural sweetness. Local authorities built a shared industrial park complete with standardized workshops, fully automatic production lines and large-scale intelligent cold storage, allowing micro- and small-sized firms to "move in without having to prepare for everything."
The China Agricultural Sector Development Report 2026, released in June, projected a pivot toward higher-value agricultural exports from 2026 to 2030. Categories such as processed fruits and nuts, frozen fruits, fish fillets and frozen vegetables are flagged for strong growth potential.
The message is clear: volume still matters, but value and differentiation matter more.
How did the "sudden" upgrade of the agricultural sector happen? Analysts pointed to two major reasons: pursuit of high-quality development and resilient supply chains.
China has emphasized high-quality development, guiding enterprises to focus more on quality over quantity. This has led to deep processing, brand building and new quality productive forces in the agriculture sector, said Zhu.
Zhu also noted that the speed and completeness of China's resilient supply chains are powering the transformation. Every link - from raw materials to finished goods, including processing, packaging, and logistics - is tightly connected.
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China reported 522,000 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in July, including 487 severe cases and one related death with cases showing a fluctuating upward trend, China's national disease control authority said.
The current uptick in infections represents another regular cyclical wave, with its severity comparable to surges seen in the past two years. The upward growth curve has slowed markedly, and the country is now on the plateau phase of this epidemic peak, said the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese CDC) on Thursday.
All tested infection samples were confirmed to be the Omicron variant, with the NB.1.8.1 strain and its sublineages accounting for the majority of circulating cases, the Chinese CDC said.
A Beijing-based respiratory disease specialist told the Global Times that waning population immunity, continued virus mutations that weaken existing antibody protection, and increased summer travel have contributed to the recent modest rise in infections. However, there is no evidence that the virus has become more pathogenic. Nationwide infections appear to be nearing their peak and case numbers may begin falling in late August.
According to sentinel hospital surveillance data, from June 29-July 5 to July 27-August 2, the proportion of influenza-like illness among all outpatient and emergency visits at China's 1,041 COVID-19 and influenza sentinel hospitals edged up with slight fluctuations, standing at 4.3 percent, 4.4 percent, 4.5 percent, 4.4 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.
During the same period, the COVID-19 positivity rate among patients with influenza-like illness in outpatient and emergency departments rose for consecutive weeks.
Several factors drove the fluctuating rise in COVID-19 cases in July. Population immunity has waned, as more than six months have passed since the last major wave of infections for most people, while continued SARS-CoV-2 mutations have reduced the protection provided by existing antibodies, Li Tongzeng, a respiratory disease medic from Beijing You An Hospital to the Capital Medical University, told the Global Times on Friday.
These factors, combined with increased travel and population mobility during the summer vacation, contributed to the recent small-scale surge. Based on patterns observed in recent years, COVID-19 infections tend to rise every six to eight months as population immunity declines, said Li.
The expert noted that while the virus continues to mutate, there is no evidence that it has become more pathogenic. Clinical data show that most patients develop only mild symptoms, with very few progressing to pneumonia or requiring hospitalization.
The Chinese CDC noted on Thursday that since COVID-19 was reclassified as a Category B infectious disease under Category B management, it has evolved into a prevalent, recurring respiratory infectious disease in China, with one to two epidemic fluctuations occurring nationwide each year.
Li also noted that residual immunity from previous infections also helps reduce disease severity, with most reinfections presenting as mild upper respiratory symptoms that resolve within about a week. The single COVID-related death reported nationwide in July further indicates that the current fatality rate remains very low.
Judging from historical epidemic patterns and current case growth trajectories, national infection figures may begin to decline in late August. Nationwide case numbers are now nearly at their peak, with declines already observed in some regions, said Li.
The Chinese CDC also said on Thursday that surveillance had not detected any variants posing major public health risks, nor had the current wave caused notable disruptions to the healthcare system.
The public is advised to take appropriate protective measures, including wearing masks when necessary, maintaining good personal hygiene, adopting healthy lifestyles and getting vaccinated as recommended.
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