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Bloomberg
Vertical farming startup Plenty Inc. plans to build 300 indoor farms in or near major Chinese cities to meet rising demand from the country’s middle-class who are willing to pay more for safer food.
The company also plans to set up what it calls experience centres in Beijing and Shanghai so that local residents can taste raw vegetables, Chief Executive Officer Matt Barnard said in Beijing. The first farm will be built in about a year.
Eating raw vegetables isn’t popular in China, partly due to safety concerns. Families generally fry or boil vegetables to mitigate the impact of any residues from pesticides and chemical fertilisers, according to Barnard.
China will speed up production of high-quality and “greener†farm products as it focusses on quality over quantity, agriculture minister Han Changfu said.