The scene from the 6th China Grain Trading Conference (Photo by Li Chunhui, China.org.cn)

According to a report by China Net Finance on October 19 (reporter Li Chunhui), the annual China Grain Trading Conference is an important platform for facilitating nationwide grain supply-demand matching and achieving cross-regional resource integration. It is also the most influential industry event in the grain sector.

On October 18, the three-day 6th China Grain Trading Fair opened in Wuhan, Hubei Province. Compared with previous sessions, this year’s fair not only showcases a wide variety of grain and oil products but also presents to the public the latest achievements across the entire grain industry chain—including grain and oil machinery and equipment, biotechnology, and intelligent manufacturing—in the areas of grain production, processing, storage, and logistics.

“By implementing the requirements for developing new-quality productivity, the conference has become a bridge and link that leads technological advancement in the grain industry,” said Liu Huanxin, member of the Party Leadership Group of the National Development and Reform Commission and Party Secretary and Director of the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, in his speech at the conference.

“Black Tech” for Grain Debuts at Trading Fair

In the 60,000-square-meter exhibition area of this year’s conference, the grain machinery equipment exhibit—featuring 12 provinces including Liaoning, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, and Hubei—was bustling with visitors. Grain suction machines, elevators, dryers, and specialized air conditioners for storage facilities—their impressive size and robust design drew the attention of the audience.

This year’s grain machinery exhibition area has expanded by 2,000 square meters compared to the previous edition, and its content is even richer. A series of cutting-edge achievements are making their debut, helping to strengthen food security capabilities and promote high-quality industrial development.

A “Rice Mobile Processing Center” the size of a standard shipping container (photo by Li Chunhui, China Net Finance)

The “Mobile Rice Processing Center” at the Hubei Grain Machinery Exhibition Area attracted many visitors who stopped to ask questions. “It has a processing capacity of 100 tons of paddy rice per day, which can ensure a supply of finished grain for a population of 150,000 people,” explained Zhang Zhilin, Engineering Department Manager of Hubei Tianhe Machinery Co., Ltd., to a reporter from China Net Finance. “The entire set of equipment fits into just one standard shipping container and weighs only 17 tons. It can be lifted and transported by crane, and once it reaches its destination and is connected to power, it’s ready to start working.”

According to the introduction, the design concept behind this equipment is “replacing physical reserves with capacity reserves.” “Dry paddy rice can be stored for a relatively long time—two or three years without any issues. However, rice has a much shorter storage life; at most, it can last half a year before it becomes infested with insects or mold, so it needs to be stored in cold storage facilities. With this equipment, the material reserve department can process paddy rice into rice anytime and anywhere. This not only saves costs but also enhances our emergency preparedness capabilities,” said Zhang Zhilin.

At the Zhejiang Grain Machinery Exhibition Area, Hangzhou Liangtai Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. showcased an intelligent sampling device: After a grain transport vehicle parks in the designated area, this device uses image recognition technology to select the sampling point locations and employs a robotic arm to perform fully automated sampling—without any human intervention throughout the process.

“This approach can minimize ‘personal-favoritism-based grain’ and significantly boost sampling efficiency,” Li Hongdian, the company’s general manager, told China Net Finance. Typically, manual sampling of a truckload of grain takes about 10 minutes, whereas an intelligent sampling machine can complete the task in just 3 minutes. During peak purchasing periods, this can greatly reduce the waiting time for farmers selling their grain.

“The conference will promote and showcase new technologies and equipment for advanced grain processing, green grain storage, and reducing grain loss and waste, thereby driving the grain and oil industry toward higher-end, smarter, and greener development,” said Liu Huanxin.

Whole-grain foods are gaining prominence.

Various whole-grain food products at the Grain Research Institute’s booth (photographed by Li Chunhui, China Net Finance)

At the exhibition area of the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration’s Institute of Science and Research (hereinafter referred to as the Grain Science Institute) at this conference, a wide variety of whole-grain foods with rich flavors attracted many visitors to stop and sample them.

“To be considered a whole-grain food, a product must contain all three components: the endosperm, the embryo, and the seed coat,” said Tan Bin, chief researcher at the Institute of Science of the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, in an interview with media outlets including China Net Finance. Whole-grain foods better preserve the natural dietary fiber, micronutrients, and bioactive compounds abundant in grains, which can effectively reduce the risk of chronic diseases. However, due to their coarse texture and tendency to spoil easily, the whole-grain industry has experienced slow development over the past period.

“These pain points can now be addressed through technological innovation,” said Tan Bin. New technologies developed by the Academy of Grain Sciences—such as extrusion-based physical modification and bio-fermentation—can significantly extend the shelf life of whole-grain foods and greatly improve their taste and texture. At the conference, the Academy showcased a variety of whole-grain products—including steamed buns, noodles, cakes, shumai, and crispy snacks—that drew enthusiastic praise from visitors who came to sample them.

Meanwhile, developing the whole-grain industry is also an important way to improve the utilization rate of edible grains. “Under refined processing, the average milling yield of rice in China is about 65%, and the average flour yield of wheat is around 75%. However, under a whole-grain approach, the milling yield of whole-wheat flour reaches as high as 98%, effectively adding an ‘invisible fertile field’,” said Tan Bin.

Whole-grain foods exhibited at this year's conference (Photo by Li Chunhui, China Net Finance)

Thanks to years of technological support, standard-setting guidance, industrial demonstrations, and consumer education, the popularity of whole-grain foods has been steadily increasing. “At this year’s conference, we’ve seen a significant rise in the number of exhibitors offering whole-grain ingredients and staple food products—such as whole-wheat noodles, whole-barley snacks, and brown-rice self-heating rice. Many new products have made their debut here, ones we didn’t see at last year’s conference,” Tan Bin remarked with admiration.

On October 1 of this year, five industry standards—including the “Classification and Labeling Requirements for Whole Grains”—were officially released and will take effect starting April 1, 2025. This marks a milestone for the development of the whole-grain industry.

Tan Bin revealed that China is accelerating the implementation of the National Whole-Grain Action Plan, and the whole-grain industry is set to hit the “fast-forward” button.