China is the biggest potato grower in the world with an average annual output of 66 million tons, but less than a quarter of the annual output is processed into products for daily consumption.

"Traditional Chinese diet mainly consists of rice and wheat," said Qu Dongyu, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, "Potatoes, in contrast, play a much lesser role and are even taken as pauper food by many people."

But the traditional pauper food is becoming essential in building a national food security system, which should mainly rely on increased per hectare yield as arable land is shrinking, said Qu, also chairman of the Chinese Potato Association.

"China's potato production enjoys great potentials in this respect, as its per hectare yield is only 14 tons, lower than the world average of 16 tons," he said.

The country's per hectare production of rice, wheat and corn, however, all topped world average, he added.

"Potato growers should be included as China's national grain production bases and should enjoy the same preferential policies and tax exemptions as rice and wheat growers," he said.

Meanwhile, the expert said China was an ideal place for planting potatoes as 60 percent of its farmland was dry land.

A survey by Qu's agricultural sciences academy also indicated that potatoes brought higher returns to farmers compared with the same acreage of wheat, corn, rice and soybeans.

Potatoes, which were grown in the past as poverty-relief products to the needy people, have become popular again in China, said Guo Huachun, a researcher with the Yunnan Agricultural University.

"Potato dishes are available at nearly every restaurant and western snacks such as French fries and mashed potatoes are popular among Chinese diners," he said, "Potatoes are also an essential ingredient in instant noodles to finetune the taste, color and property of the noodles."

Nutritionists say potatoes are rich in carbohydrate, vitamins, amino acid, carotene and minerals and a meal of potatoes and whole milk alone can provide for all the essential elements needed by the human body.

Potatoes are also widely used in papermaking and pharmacy, say experts attending the conference which is set to close Tuesday.

More than 1,200 scholars and business leaders from 46 nations and regions are attending the triennial conference, the previous four of which were held in Canada, Britain, South Africa and the Netherlands respectively.

Under a contract signed during the conference, Xuanwei city, a major potato grower in Yunnan Province with an annual output of 700,000 tons, will provide 150,000 to 200,000 tons of fresh potatoes between June 2004 and February 2005 to AVEBE Runkai Starch Co. Ltd., a transnational firm based in the province that produces 16,000 tons of starch a year.

The deal would bring 20 million yuan (2.4 million US dollars) of profits to local farmers, said Xu Wanxiong, head of the local agricultural bureau. He expected the city's annual potato production to increase to 1.5 million tons by 2010.