Unit price of 200,000 yuan: Chinese container "plant factories" are favored by overseas markets

An agricultural technology company in Shouguang City, Shandong Province, has sold its containerized "vegetable factories" to many countries overseas. This "plant factory," which is unaffected by external climate conditions, has quickly gained favor among overseas customers such as those in Dubai, despite each unit costing up to 200,000 yuan.

Meanwhile, during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, rows of shipping containers from Chengdu, Sichuan, at Al Fardan Farm not far from Doha, the capital of Qatar, provided fresh vegetables to football fans from around the world.

1. Establish data models for efficient production and seek optimized ways to reduce energy consumption

Since February this year, the Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences team, which previously taught polar vegetable cultivation to scientific expedition members at the Great Wall Station and Zhongshan Station in Antarctica, is competing on Chongming Island in Shanghai alongside three other teams. Over 90 days, within four standard 20-foot containers, they will determine who can achieve higher lettuce yield, better quality, superior algorithms, and lower energy consumption without soil or sunlight.

In recent years, "plant factories" as an Industry direction of modern agriculture have received widespread attention both domestically and internationally. Unaffected by natural environmental conditions, they simulate the essential elements required for crop production—such as temperature, light, water, nutrients, and air— through LED lighting, indoor environmental control technologies, algorithms, and models, thereby achieving continuous, stable, and efficient agricultural production. Professor He Dongxian from the College of Water Resources and Civil Engineering at China Agricultural University believes that plant factories capable of year-round production can increase crop output efficiency by tenfold. Consistent quality and standardized production provide the best guarantee for improving the self-sufficiency rate of urban vegetables.

However, the biggest challenge currently facing fully controllable plant factories is their persistently high energy consumption . To reduce energy consumption in a more optimized manner, several teams are leveraging artificial intelligence technologies and control strategies to optimize energy utilization across spectrum, environmental design, and other areas.

2. Overseas Boom in Container Farming: Yields at Least 40 Times Higher Catch the Eye

An agricultural technology company in Shouguang City, Shandong Province, has sold its container "vegetable factories" to many countries overseas. This "plant factory," unaffected by external climate conditions, has quickly gained favor among overseas customers despite each unit costing up to 200,000 yuan. Liu Pengpeng, General Manager of an agricultural technology company in Shouguang City, Shandong Province, stated: "Currently, orders generally go to Central Asian countries, Europe, and Dubai. There are many desert countries. So far, more than ten containers have been shipped, with another twenty to thirty containers waiting to be shipped."

This containerized "vegetable factory" is divided into two parts: a control room and a growing room. Screens in the control room display relevant data such as indoor temperature and humidity, carbon dioxide concentration, and light levels. The growing room is arranged like train sleeper berths, with five layers, each capable of cultivating leafy vegetables.

This 40-foot container can grow 5,000 leafy vegetable plants, equivalent to the yield of two mu of land. One harvest cycle every 28 days allows for 12 cycles per year, with each cycle producing approximately 900 kg. Water and nutrient solutions are recycled, achieving water conservation and energy saving. The annual production capacity is more than 40 times that of the same area outdoors.

Chinese-made container "vegetable factories" going global are not only produced in Shouguang, Shandong. During the 2022 Qatar World Cup, rows of containers from Chengdu, Sichuan, at Al Fardan Farm near Doha, the capital of Qatar, provided fresh vegetables to fans worldwide. This is a research achievement of the Institute of Urban Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

At the Institute of Urban Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, their research focuses not only on vegetables but also on rice cultivation. Currently, in a plant factory environment, they can harvest a crop of rice in about 60 days, with a yield of approximately 700 kg per mu. With four layers of growing space, their yield per mu can reach about 24 times that of open-field cultivation.

In May this year, a vertical farm with a floor height of 43.4 meters will be completed and put into operation at the Institute of Urban Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The unmanned smart plant factory within it will fully automate the planting process. Taking lettuce as an example, the annual leafy vegetable output can reach 49 tons, which is of great significance for ensuring the supply of fresh vegetables in cities.

Source: CCTV Finance, compiled