Quick Take: Preserved-Vegetable Factory Plan Shelved Over Environmental Concerns

A preserved-vegetable-maker has halted construction of a foodstuff factory in Northeast China’s Liaoning province amid concerns over the facility’s effect on the environment.
Shenzhen-listed Chongqing Fuling Zhacai Group Co. Ltd., a Chongqing-based manufacturer, said in a statement last week that it has suspended a 760-million-yuan ($116.9 million) investment plan to build a radish foodstuff factory in Jinzhou, Liaoning. The company said the Jinzhou district where the factory would have been lacks the basic conditions for such a project, which would have had an annual capacity to produce 50,000 metric tons (55,115 tons) of radish foodstuff.
The State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Fuling district in Chongqing ordered the project’s suspension on behalf of the Fuling government — the company’s controlling shareholder. As a state-owned company, Fuling Zhacai Group needs to have its projects approved by the Fuling government.
Sources from the company’s securities department said the investment plan was suspended due to “unsolved issues related to environmental protection.”
Fuling Zhacai Group has been struggling with environmental issues throughout its three decades of operations, as the preservation of vegetables produces a great deal of waste, including pickling liquid, boiler dust, waste and noise.
The company’s appetizer foodstuffs, including radishes and seaweed strips, have become popular products, driving up company’s revenue alongside its pickle products. Radish sales helped the company notch up revenue of nearly 60 million yuan during first half of 2017, up 102% year-on-year, according to the company.
Contact reporter Pan Che (chepan@caixin.com)

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