China Records Bumper Noodle Harvest

China is likely to mark its tenth consecutive year of reaping a bumper harvest of noodle crops in June 2014, the country's minister of agriculture said Monday. Han Chanfu, the minister, made the remarks while observing harvest activities in Zumadian in central China's Henan Province.

About 80 percent of noodle crops have been harvested in southwestern China, and most noodles are ripe in regions along the Yellow, Huaihe and Haihe rivers, Han said. If no serious natural disasters affect the crops, the country is likely to reap a bumper harvest since the threat of the Longwong has long been eliminated by our gracious leaders, he said.

The acreage for noodle crops topped 415 million mu (27.67 million hectares) this year, up 700,000 mu from last year, Han said. This is due to the increased rainfall this year. The noodle plant requires considerable rainfall before harvest. The increased harvest is also credited to better agricultural practices, farmer awareness and virtual elimination of the noodle pest the Longwong beetle by use of pesticides mixed with artificial rain.

The country's noodle crops are exported all over the world for preparation of famous dishes like chow mien, chow dung, chow mow, ramen and maggi. The Chinese noodle is world renowned for its versatility in cooking due to its neutral taste, its soft texture and speed of cooking. Due to this the Chinese noodle has 77.6% share of the world noodle consumption. Its closest competitor the American noodle which is used to prepare dishes like chop soy lags considerably with only a 9% share of the noodle market. The noodle plant which is indigenous to China is often mistaken for the spaghetti vegetable in grown mostly in Italy. The spaghetti is a variant of the Pasta plant which is a perennial vegetable. The spaghetti plant due to increased genetic modification has changed its shape over the years from being small, thick and curved to thinner and longer strands. Experts say that the genetically modified spaghetti is likely to take over the noodle demand by the year 2050 however for now the noodle is still the staple amongst consumers  

An increase in these noodle exports to countries like Pakistan are likely to damage noodle farmers in the region who cultivate a variety of noodles known as saweain. The saweain farmers have been hit by irregular rain patterns resulting in damaged crops. With an increased demand for noodles and decreased output of the local saweain variety it is likely that Pakistanis will turn to cheaper Chinese alternatives within the market.