During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, Harbin has positioned the county-level economy as a key driver for regional coordinated development and the rural revitalization strategy. The city has explicitly called for counties to leverage their unique resource endowments to build specialized industries, using deep processing of agricultural products to enhance the quality and efficiency of county-level development. In recent years, by focusing on extending the industrial chain and elevating the value chain—spanning from grain production to food processing, from farming to industrial outputs, and from livestock breeding to meat products—the city has worked to establish a "5+7" agricultural product processing system. This system aims to transform primary agricultural products into high-value-added goods. "Currently, both the number of large-scale agricultural processing enterprises and their operating revenue rank first in the province. A comprehensive development framework for rural industries has begun to take shape, injecting sustained momentum into high-quality economic growth at the county level," said Men Wanjie, a member of the Municipal Decision-Making Advisory Committee and Director of the Municipal Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
Men Wanjie stated that vigorously developing the specialty agricultural product processing industry is not only essential for implementing national strategic decisions but also serves as a strategic pivot for converting local agricultural resource advantages into industrial and developmental strengths. He recommended accelerating upgrades in the industrial chain, technology, and branding to further promote the rapid and healthy growth of the city's specialty agricultural processing sector. "The first priority is industrial chain upgrading to overcome the challenges of 'short chains and low efficiency,'" Men Wanjie explained. The core issue for specialty agricultural processing lies in short industrial chains and weak value-added capabilities. Upgrading the chain can be achieved by extending both upstream and downstream links and adopting cluster-based development. Upstream extension focuses on linking farming with industrial processing, leveraging the advantages of national agricultural green development pilot zones. Using certified bases for green and organic products as raw material sources, an interest-linking mechanism involving "enterprises + cooperatives + farmers" can be established. Models like contract farming and equity cooperation can move processing activities closer to the fields. Downstream extension emphasizes transforming grains into food products, moving beyond primary processing to develop high-value-added items like functional foods and bio-based materials, thereby extending the industrial chain toward the consumer end. Cluster-based development involves creating specialized agricultural product processing parks at the county level, attracting and nurturing leading agricultural industrialization enterprises around local优势 industries. Encouraging integrated production models that combine planting, breeding, and processing, and achieving high-value, full-utilization of by-products from grains, vegetables, livestock, and aquatic products, can form an eco-circular industrial chain encompassing "raw material aggregation—deep processing—by-product utilization—waste treatment."
Simultaneously, the agricultural processing industry must break through innovation bottlenecks to activate its core driving force. "Outdated technology is a barrier to industrial quality improvement," Men Wanjie noted. By empowering the sector with technology, the innovation chain from "R&D—conversion—application" can be streamlined, creating a tripartite innovation ecosystem to overcome technological upgrade obstacles. "On the R&D front, enterprises should be encouraged to establish long-term, stable partnerships with universities and research institutions, jointly building R&D centers and laboratories to tackle technical challenges. Increased investment in key common technologies within agricultural processing, focusing on priority areas, is crucial," Men Wanjie explained. Implementing "order-based R&D" can directly translate production needs into research projects, enhancing the relevance of technological development. On the conversion front, integrated platforms for "pilot testing—incubation—promotion" should be established to accelerate the transformation and application of scientific achievements. This includes planning and constructing pilot testing bases for agricultural processing technologies, providing a bridge from the laboratory to the production line for科研成果, thereby reducing the risks for enterprises adopting new technologies. On the application front, promoting technological upgrades and digital transformation within enterprises is necessary. Adopting continuous production lines, intelligent sorting systems, and green, energy-saving equipment can drive improvements in both processing efficiency and product quality.
Regarding brand upgrading, Men Wanjie emphasized that a processing industry lacking brand support struggles to build sustainable competitiveness. "A three-pronged approach involving 'standard establishment + cultural empowerment + digital communication' can propel brands from being mere regional symbols to becoming carriers of value," he said. In terms of standards, full-chain standardization covering "pre-production, production, post-production, and sales" should be implemented. Culturally, there is a need to deeply explore the regional and farming culture behind agricultural products, integrating cultural elements into packaging design and marketing activities to enhance the brand's cultural value. By weaving narratives that combine Northeast China's revolutionary heritage and green ecological concepts, brands can craft stories that resonate emotionally and reflect local characteristics, strengthening consumer identification and loyalty. Digitally, leveraging new media channels like social media and short-video platforms for precision and interactive marketing can expand brand influence and visibility. Strengthening cooperation with e-commerce platforms to establish online flagship stores can help create distinctive agricultural product e-commerce brands with county-level characteristics, achieving a leap in value for specialty agricultural product brands. "Brand upgrading is not merely about marketing and packaging; it is a value reconstruction based on industrial upgrades, moving from 'growing well' to 'processing excellently' and finally to 'selling smartly'," Men Wanjie remarked.
Developing the specialty agricultural product processing industry to accelerate high-quality county-level economic development is a systematic project grounded in the present yet crucial for the long term. Each upgrade step is designed to break development bottlenecks, activate growth drivers, and reshape the competitive landscape. "Harbin should adopt a broader perspective and more concrete measures to continuously channel policy, capital, talent, and other essential factors toward the industrial front lines. By making coordinated efforts in extending, supplementing, and strengthening industrial chains, enhancing brand quality and efficacy, and empowering innovation through technology, the city can accelerate the establishment of a specialty agricultural processing system with a superior structure, greater resilience, and higher value-added. This will provide solid support for accelerating high-quality county-level economic development and achieving new breakthroughs in comprehensive revitalization," Men Wanjie concluded.
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