After "breaking zero", how to make big orders for Zhongjiang noodles

Farmer's Eye

□ Zhou Jinquan, an all-media reporter of Sichuan Rural Daily

In late April, the famous Zhongjiang noodles achieved a breakthrough of "zero" - the first batch of 8 tons of Zhongjiang noodles set off for export to the United States. This good news has been going viral in the local industry lately. However, once the overseas market opens a breakthrough, the market is expected to be further expanded, orders are expected to be further increased, and customers may also require centralized supply - which is a big test for the traditional Zhongjiang handmade noodles that have always been "relying on the sky to eat" and have only 8 months of production season every year!

What to do? The ringer also needs to be tied to the bell, and the zhongjiang industry insiders have given the answer - only by implementing standardized production.

The first overseas export ushered in a development opportunity

"He is the leader of our 'noodle village', and it is the noodles produced by his enterprise that represent the export of the whole village." On May 17, Zhong Jinchang, a farmer in the sixth group of Juehui Village in Northeast Town, Zhongjiang County, who was making the last batch of noodles in the first half of this year, said: "He has brought more opportunities for the all-ecological handmade noodles we produce to go abroad." ”

Juehui Village, famous for its family workshops to make handmade noodles, is known as "China Noodle Village". The "he" mentioned by Zhong Jinchang is Li Ze, director of Juehui Village and vice president of the Zhongjiang Noodle Association. Last month, the noodles produced by Li Ze Company first departed from Juehui Village to Shanghai, and then shipped to the Los Angeles supermarket for sale via ocean.

Li Ze said: "Through the docking of the municipal and county commerce bureaus, after half a year of talks, we finally cooperated with a domestic foreign trade company. We are responsible for production, they are responsible for sales, signed an intention cooperation agreement, the annual export volume is expected to reach 80 tons, last month first 'walked' 8 tons, it is estimated that it will take early June to transport to Los Angeles. This batch of Zhongjiang noodles, worth 40,000 yuan per ton, is expected to be sold at a Los Angeles supermarket and is expected to be multiplied by three on this basis. ”

Li Ze introduced that unlike the domestic sales of Zhongjiang noodles, domestic standards generally only focus on nutritional ingredients, while the requirements put forward by the US market are more stringent, not only requiring nutritional ingredients, but also putting forward requirements for hydration and PH value, and its enterprises produce according to the requirements of the Us side, and also use specific packaging.

It is understood that relying on the "China Noodle Village", Li Ze's enterprises can produce and sell two or three hundred tons of Zhongjiang handmade noodles a year, and the first 8 tons exported only account for 4% of its output, but it has made a good start. Li Ze said: "Now, I am ready to export Zhongjiang noodles to Japan through my own channels; moreover, I am joining hands with a company to do the European market." ”

Break through the "rely on the sky to eat" to promote standardized production

However, Li Ze was happy and worried: "For export orders of 80 tons a year, there is no problem in supplying in batches, and I am afraid that customers will concentrate on asking for goods!" Moreover, export orders are expected to increase further in the future. ”

Whether it can meet the customer's orders on time and on time has become a big problem!

"There are about 9 townships in the county that produce handmade noodles, which are basically fixed by sales, and the annual production volume is about 3,000 tons." In the future, overseas orders such as the United States will be additional. "But Zhongjiang handmade noodles are all made by hand by the inheritors, and it is not like industrial products that can be produced at full horsepower." ”

According to Li Ze, Zhongjiang handmade noodles are mostly small workshops using low-temperature fermentation technology, from the noodles to the end of the noodles production cycle of more than 20 hours, if the temperature, humidity of the weather is easy to make the noodles deteriorate. Therefore, Zhongjiang noodles "have high temperatures and cannot be done; it rains, and cannot be done", completely "rely on the sky to eat", only from mid-September to mid-May of the following year, and the rest of the time, craftsmen go out to work for short-term work.

Li Ze believes that only by achieving standardized production throughout the year can Zhongjiang noodles dare to accept more overseas orders.

In fact, the first batch of 8 tons of Zhongjiang handmade noodles exported by Li Ze was produced in its newly built standardized factory. The reporter found that the 3,000-square-meter standardized factory plant that was put into operation last year, up to more than 5 meters high, can accommodate the lower high drying rack; the drying rack and the fermentation tank are installed with wheels, which is convenient for pushing to the outdoor drying and saving labor; in addition, there is an oven.

"As long as it doesn't rain, we are all naturally drying noodles outdoors, and once we find that it is going to rain, we can immediately push them to the oven, and it only takes a few tens of minutes to dry." Li Ze said, "Through standardization, the production of Zhongjiang noodles can be realized all year round. In the next step, I am also ready to install constant temperature and humidity equipment in the standardized plant to ensure the production environment of the noodles. ”

Li Ze envisaged that through standardized production, during the period from mid-May to mid-September of the following year, the craftsmen who wanted to go out to work for short-term work would be left behind, and the "company + farmer" would be implemented, so that the craftsmen would be employed in the standardized factory. In this way, once the overseas order volume increases or the supply is concentrated, it is no longer afraid.

Li Ze said: "In the next step, we will combine the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, take handmade noodles as a breakthrough, adhere to the 'tourism + characteristic industries' model, do a good job in the optimization and upgrading of exports, and gradually develop towards diversification, scale, standardization and internationalization." ”

"The export of Zhongjiang noodles to the United States is the first agricultural product exported to foreign markets in Zhongjiang." Ye Yuan, director of the foreign trade unit of the Zhongjiang County Bureau of Commerce, said that although this amount is not large, but the enterprise has export performance after all, according to the relevant policies, the county bureau of commerce will give support in exhibitions, export data, logistics and trade.

Ye Yuan believes that the top priority of Zhongjiang noodles is to increase production through standardized production, expand overseas markets, and strive to export directly from Zhongjiang.