Workers process water-cooked bamboo shoots in Longyou county, Quzhou, Zhejiang province. [Photo/People's Daily]

At the Quzhou Longyou Foreign Trade Bamboo Shoot Factory Co in Longyou, Quzhou, workers are processing water-cooked bamboo shoots.

As March and April bring fresh bamboo shoots to the market, the factory operates non-stop, with lights blazing 24 hours a day.

Xiang Zhiming, the company's chairman, reveals that during peak periods, the factory procures up to 500 metric tons of bamboo shoots daily from nearby provinces and beyond. After processing, these premium bamboo shoots find their way primarily to the Japanese market.

Established in 1997, the company specializes in the processing and distribution of water-cooked bamboo shoots, seasoned vegetables, and frozen produce. In 2023, the company boasted a total revenue of 150 million yuan ($20.77 million), with exports totaling 100 million yuan.

When taking his ventures to Japan, Xiang enlisted Chinese students as translators, visited bamboo shoot enterprises, and even encouraged his wife to learn Japanese, dialing numbers listed in Japanese directories to market their water-cooked bamboo shoots.

"The stability of the overseas market is fundamental to our domestic expansion," Xiang said. With shifting domestic preferences towards fiber-rich foods like water-cooked bamboo shoots, exponential growth in demand is anticipated. It is foreseeable that the company's domestic sales will outstrip its overseas counterparts by significant margins in the years to come.