The China Chamber of Commerce for Imports & Exports of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-products (CFNA) held its 2014 China Peanut Conference in Qingdao, a coastal city of Shandong province, on September 5.

As the most influential event of the peanut industry in China, the conference is conducive to enhancing the communication between manufacturers and importers and expanding markets in the peanut industry and then facilitating the steady growth of imports and exports on a national scale.

Qingdao’s exports topped $42 billion in 2013, with $5 billion of agricultural products accounting for 12 percent of total export earnings. With more than 300 peanut industry manufacturers and 120,000 growers, Qingdao’s peanut products account for more than 40 percent of Shandong’s exports.

With the constant improvement in processing technologies, the competitiveness of Qingdao’s peanut industry around the world has been increasing in recent years. Total peanut exports reached $ 540 million in 2013, up 4.7 percent over the same period last year, accounting for 10.7 percent of agricultural exports.

Peanut products have developed into various types, such as baked peanuts and fried peanuts; and they are sold in 81 countries and regions.