The port of Yantai in China’s northern Shandong province plans to specialise in agricultural exports with a huge new port facility currently under construction.
Yantai has long competed for business with nearby Dalian and Qingdao ports, and it is hoped the new agricultural focus will help Yantai complement its neighbours rather than compete with them, reported the China Daily.
“Qingdao has refinery and petrochemical industries, Dalian has its steel industry, while Tianjin has a high-end manufacturing industry backed by Beijing,” explained Du Futang, director of the Yantai Port and Shipping Administration Bureau. “We must build our own industry structure rather than copy theirs.
“Specialization is the key. The new port industries will focus on pollution-free agricultural products processing, wine products, and fertiliser manufacturing and distribution.”
Yantai’s port authorities are five years into a Yn13bn (US$1.97bn) project to redevelop the existing port and build a new neighbouring port facility.
The new facility will cover 50km2, and will have a handling capacity of 200m tonnes and 15m containers, according to the China Daily report.
A tariff-free zone is also being planned for the port to cover industries with “strong Yantai characteristics”, said Mr Du.
Yantai is located in the middle of Shandong Province, one of China’s powerhouses of fruit and vegetable production. As of 2009, Shandong was the country’s second-largest apple and pear producer and third-largest grape producer, according to USDA figures.
