Pingjiang, Hunan, a small county town known as the "hometown of Chinese spicy noodles", is experiencing an unprecedented test.
Recently, the catastrophic floods caused by continuous heavy rainfall have not only had a huge impact on the lives of local residents, but also had a serious impact on the spicy noodle industry that Pingjiang is proud of.
However, in the face of this disaster, the sense of responsibility and resilience shown by the spicy noodles enterprises are just like the spicy noodles they produce, which makes people feel a heart-warming spiciness.
As one of the representative enterprises in Pingjiang's spicy strip industry, Hunan Spicy Prince Food Co., Ltd. performed well in the disaster.
Although the company was forced to suspend work due to flooding, it still generously donated 1 million yuan to the local flood relief work.
This move not only reflects the sense of social responsibility of the enterprise, but also demonstrates the spirit of responsibility of Pingjiang Spicy Noodles Enterprise in times of crisis.
The shutdown of Spicy Prince has undoubtedly caused huge losses to the company. According to the head of the company, under normal circumstances, the factory ships up to 5 million packages a day.
The shutdown is expected to last at least five days, meaning the company will lose at least 25 million packs of spicy strips.
Considering the low unit price and high sales volume of spicy noodles, the economic value of this loss cannot be underestimated.
However, Prince Spicy is not alone. Jinzai Food, also located in Pingjiang, was also forced to stop production due to the interruption of water supply in the park.
It is worth mentioning that Jinzai Food also donated 1 million yuan for flood relief.
The actions of these two companies reflect the responsibility and responsibility of the entire Pingjiang spicy noodle industry.
The scale of Pingjiang's spicy strip industry is amazing.
According to statistics, there are 116 spicy strip enterprises in the county, with an annual output value of more than 20 billion yuan and more than 102,000 jobs.
What's even more shocking is that the output value of Pingjiang's spicy noodles accounts for one-third of the national share, and more than 90% of the country's spicy noodles enterprises were founded by Pingjiang people.
These data fully illustrate the important position of Pingjiang in China's spicy noodle industry.
The contribution of the spicy strip industry to Pingjiang's economy is self-evident.
In 2023, the output value of Pingjiang's food industry will reach 40.07 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.8%, of which the output value of snack foods such as spicy strips, dried sauce, instant noodles, and flavored small fish will account for more than ninety percent.
Spicy noodles have become an important engine for Pingjiang's economic development.
Looking back on the development of Pingjiang spicy noodles, we have to mention that historic moment in 1998.
Inspired by the spicy flavor of Sichuan hot pot, three people from Pingjiang, Hunan Province – Qiu Pingjiang, Li Mengneng and Zhong Qingyuan – added Sichuan pepper to the seasoning process, and finally developed the spicy spicy strips that are loved by young people.
This innovation not only created a new snack food category, but also laid the foundation for Pingjiang's economic development.
It is worth mentioning that Pingjiang is not only the birthplace of spicy noodles, but also has given birth to many outstanding entrepreneurs in the spicy noodles industry.
Among them, the most well-known is Liu Weiping, the founder of Weilong Spicy Noodles.
In 1999, this Pingjiang native came to Luohe, Henan Province, drew inspiration from the Central Plains snack beef tendon noodles, and started Weilong's entrepreneurial road.
On December 15, 2022, Weilong was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becoming the first stock in the seasoning noodle products industry, adding another strong touch to the Pingjiang spicy noodle industry.
However, the current flood disaster has undoubtedly brought great challenges to the Pingjiang spicy noodle industry.
According to the meteorological department, Pingjiang County has received 759.6 mm of rainfall since June 18, the highest value for the same period since meteorological records began in 1961.
This rare heavy rainfall caused serious waterlogging in Pingjiang County, with local water accumulation up to 3 meters deep, and the water level approaching the height of the traffic light. At one point, nearly one-third of the old town of Pingjiang was flooded, and nearly half of the new city was flooded.
In the face of such a severe disaster, all parties acted quickly.
The National Committee for Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Relief has raised the national disaster relief emergency response level to Level 3 and dispatched a team to the disaster area to guide the disaster relief work. The Ministry of Emergency Management also urgently dispatched flood drainage forces across provinces and regions to reinforce Pingjiang.
At the same time, local governments and businesses are also actively organizing flood relief efforts to minimize losses.
Despite the current grim situation, the future of Pingjiang's spicy noodle industry is still full of hope.
As the water level gradually recedes and the weather gradually improves, the relief work is moving into a transitional resettlement and post-disaster recovery and reconstruction phase.
Spicy Prince and other companies are also actively taking measures to resume production, and it is expected that it will take about a week for the full resumption of work.
This sudden flood disaster not only tested the emergency response ability of Pingjiang's spicy noodle industry, but also tested the resilience of the entire industry. Judging from the current situation, the sense of social responsibility and rapid response ability shown by Pingjiang spicy noodles enterprises have undoubtedly injected confidence into the long-term development of the industry.
As an important member of China's snack food industry, the fate of Pingjiang's spicy noodle industry affects the hearts of countless consumers.
It is believed that with the joint efforts of all parties, the Pingjiang spicy strip industry will tide over the difficulties and continue to provide consumers with that unique spicy delicacy.
At the same time, this experience will also become an important page in the history of the development of Pingjiang spicy noodles industry, witnessing the growth and transformation of this industry in the face of adversity.
In the future, Pingjiang spicy noodle industry may find new development opportunities in this post-disaster reconstruction, further improve product quality, optimize production processes, and strengthen risk management.
In any case, the title of "the hometown of Chinese spicy noodles" has been deeply imprinted on the land of Pingjiang, and the spicy noodles entrepreneurs here will continue to use their wisdom and courage to write a new chapter in the development of the spicy noodles industry.