On August 5th, the 17th International Peatland Congress was held in Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, China. The congress lasted five days, and the theme was "Peatlands in a Changing World" this year. Hundreds of industry experts from different countries joined the conference to talk about global peat issues.
During the congress, experts from overseas and domestic places shared their opinions. For example, the professor from Nanjing Agricultural University shared the development of soilless production in China, and the topic was 'Current situation, problems and development prospect of substrate cultivation in China'.
Researcher Shang Qingmao from the China Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) focussed on peat in young plants, with the topic 'Peat contributes to the development of seedling industry in China'. Peat is a major substrate used in nurseries for young vegetable plants. Former President of the International Peatland Institute, Gerald Schmilewski, addressed the peat industry challenges with the topic 'From enforced peatland development to enforced peat use reduction'.
China started to import peat in 1995, but the quantity was not big, only 20,000 to 30,000 cubic meters per year. Until 2017, peat imports grew to 1 million cubic meters per year, and in the following years, peat imports have increased rapidly, reaching 3 million cubic meters per year. The rapid development was related to China's economy.
"In the past, growers lacked enough money to buy peat or other substrates. However, with more and more investments in agriculture/horticulture areas, peat consumption increases a lot and will continue to increase," one expert said. Prof. Meng Xianmin, Executive Vice President of the China Humic Acid Industry Association Peat Industry Branch, pointed out the existing problems in the industry and described the future. According to some data, the imported peat quantity to China will reach 30 million cubic meters.
Currently, raw materials and semi-finished peat products in China mainly rely on imports, and the introduction of peat resources and processing will have potential in the future. Taizhou has a very convenient geographic location, with ports and easy for customs clearance, and the transshipment capacity is good. It has a high potential to become a distribution center for the peat industry in China.