Against the backdrop of a surge in global demand for healthy food, China's dehydrated pumpkin industry has become a "hidden champion" in international agricultural trade due to its synergistic advantages in scale, technology, and market layout. By 2025, the export volume of dehydrated pumpkin from China will account for over 40% of the global market share. Its competitiveness is not only due to its huge production volume, but also reflected in the deep integration of the industrial chain, technological innovation breakthroughs, and the dual drive of policies and markets.
The annual production of pumpkin in China has exceeded 20 million tons, accounting for nearly 50% of the global total production, with a planting area of over 10 million acres. Represented by Zhijin County in Guizhou Province, the "Hometown of Pumpkin" achieves full coverage of contract agriculture through the model of "leading enterprises+cooperatives+farmers". For example, Nongyao Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. processes 7500 tons of dehydrated pumpkin products annually, driving an average annual income increase of over 12000 yuan for 80000 farmers. Large scale production has reduced unit costs, making Chinese dehydrated pumpkins competitively priced in the international market.
From breeding, planting to processing and export, China has formed a complete dried pumpkin industry chain. Upstream, companies such as Longping High tech and Syngenta provide hybrid seeds with high disease resistance and high yield; In the midstream stage, technologies such as vacuum low-temperature dehydration and freeze-drying are used to enhance the added value of products; Downstream links, cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehouse layout shorten delivery cycles. For example, Shanghai Caoye Agriculture uses the "planting base+central kitchen+overseas warehouse" model to quickly deliver products to the European and American markets.
By 2025, Chinese dried pumpkin processing enterprises will widely adopt technologies such as freeze-drying and vacuum low-temperature dehydration to maximize the retention of nutritional components. For example, Guizhou enterprises use -40 ℃ rapid freezing and freshness locking technology to make pumpkin strips taste similar to fresh products after rehydration, meeting the quality requirements of high-end markets in Europe and America. In addition, deep processing technologies such as pumpkin seed oil extraction and pumpkin polysaccharide extraction have increased the added value of raw materials by more than 5 times. Technologies such as the Internet of Things and big data have penetrated into the pumpkin planting and processing process. For example, a company in Zhejiang has controlled the impurity rate below 0.1% through a machine vision sorting system, meeting the EU import standards; Zhijin County in Guizhou Province adopts green planting models such as biological control and organic fertilizer substitution, and its products have passed the EU organic certification. Intelligent and green production not only improves efficiency, but also meets the requirements of the international market for sustainable development.
The Chinese government is promoting the internationalization of the pumpkin industry through pilot programs for rural foreign trade and tax incentives. For example, Zhijin County in Guizhou Province, as a pilot area, enjoys support such as export tax rebates and logistics subsidies, reducing enterprise costs by 15% -20%. In addition, after the RCEP agreement came into effect, tariffs on Chinese dried pumpkin exports to Japan and South Korea were reduced to zero, further expanding the profit margins of enterprises. Chinese dried pumpkin has covered more than 60 countries and regions in Asia, Europe, America, and the Middle East. In Asia, South Korea and Japan are China's largest export markets, with annual import volumes of 80000 tons and 50000 tons respectively; In Europe and America, functional products such as organic pumpkin powder and pumpkin seed oil soft capsules have entered high-end supermarket channels; In the Middle East and Africa, companies reach emerging markets through cross-border e-commerce platforms. For example, Nongyao Agriculture has signed a long-term order with CJ Group in South Korea to directly supply its products to Korean catering chain enterprises.
In response to technological barriers in the international market, Chinese companies have increased their investment in quality control. For example, Guizhou enterprises have established a full traceability system from the field to the workshop to ensure that pesticide residues and microbiological indicators comply with EU standards. In addition, by obtaining certifications such as HACCP and ISO22000, we aim to enhance the international recognition of our products. Some companies enhance their brand awareness by participating in international food exhibitions and hosting pumpkin culture festivals. For example, the "Zhijin Pumpkin" regional public brand in Guizhou combines local ethnic minority culture to create a dual label of "health+culture" and enhance international market recognition. In the future, Chinese dried pumpkin flakes needs to upgrade from "product export" to "brand output" to consolidate its global leadership position.
By 2025, China's dried pumpkin flakes industry will become a core force in global health food trade, leveraging its multidimensional advantages in scale, technology, policies, and market. In the future, with the deepening of agricultural modernization and international trade cooperation, Chinese dried pumpkin flakes will further expand its high-end market, promote the transformation of the industry from "Made in China" to "Chinese brand", and provide higher quality healthy choices for global consumers.
Post time: May-09-2025