In the cold chain warehouse in Weifang, Shandong, the individual frozen asparagus is waiting to be shipped to Europe. Behind this scene is the development process of China's foreign trade for more than half a century. As the world's largest producer of asparagus, the origin of China's foreign trade in frozen asparagus is deeply engraved with the era of policy guidance, technological breakthroughs, and market exploration.
The prelude to China's asparagus foreign trade began with canned products. In the late 1950s, the demand for export earnings under the planned economy system gave rise to the asparagus processing industry. In 1958, Shandong established the first asparagus canning and processing experimental site, marking the emergence of industrialization. In the 1960s, changes in Sino Soviet relations intensified foreign exchange pressure, and canned food production lines were gradually built in Fujian, Zhejiang and other places. The products were mainly sold to Eastern European and Soviet markets, and by 1970, the export volume had reached 3200 tons. In 1971, during Nixon's visit to China, domestically produced canned white asparagus was presented at a state banquet and received praise, becoming the key to tapping into the Western market and accumulating international recognition for the subsequent export of frozen asparagus.
The true origin of frozen asparagus tips began in the early 1980s. With the introduction of quick freezing technology and the promotion of export-oriented agricultural policies, coastal provinces such as Shandong and Jiangsu have begun to explore the quick freezing processing of asparagus to solve the problem of single canned products. This transformation coincides with the increasing demand for off-season vegetables in the international market, and frozen asparagus tips has quickly opened up new markets with its advantages of longer shelf life and better nutrient retention. At this time, the foreign trade model continued the "trade industry agriculture integration" system of the canned food industry, with the foreign trade department coordinating sales and forming a complete chain from planting to export.
The 1990s became the starting point for the large-scale foreign trade of frozen asparagus tips. In 1995, China rose to become the largest country in asparagus cultivation, processing, and sales. Northern production areas began to promote the cultivation of green asparagus, filling the gap in frozen export categories. This year, the export volume of frozen asparagus tips nationwide has reached 32000 tons, mainly sold to the markets of Japan, South Korea, and Europe, breaking the pattern of unified export of canned white asparagus. On the technical level, traditional quick freezing processes are constantly upgrading to provide guarantees for export quality, while the popularization of the "company+base+farmer" model has achieved standardization and stability in raw material supply.
From canned food experiments in the 1950s to large-scale frozen exports in the 1990s, the origin of China's foreign trade in frozen asparagus spears is not only a history of exploration in agricultural industrialization, but also a microcosm of China's agricultural products' integration into the global trading system. Nowadays, with the upgrading of freeze-drying technology and the promotion of trade agreements such as RCEP, this' frozen asparagus spears' is moving towards a broader global market.
Post time: Nov-28-2025
