Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, a major grain producer in China, will expand its acreage of organic food to 3.33 million hectares by the year 2010, according to a plan of the provincial government.

According to the provincial information center, the organic food industry has developed rapidly in the province over the past five years, with the acreage of organic food reaching 1.58 million hectares by the end of last year, 7.1 times more than that for 1999.

The output of organic food reached 11.1 million tons by the end of last year, 9.5 times the figure for 1999. The output value of organic food totaled 32.7 billion yuan (3.95 billion US dollars) by the end of last year, 8 times that for 1999.

The sales income of the organic food processing industry reached 13.2 billion yuan (1.59 billion US dollars) last year, 10.9 times that for 1999. The per capita income from organic food for local farmers rose to 866 yuan (104.7 US dollars) from 59 yuan in 1999.

The province has invested 275 million yuan (33.25 million US dollars) to support the organic food industry since 2000.

Source: Xinhua