The agricultural product quality safety center of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Liaoning provincial marine fishery department held a joint news conference on Nov 15 in Donggang city, issuing national geographical identification certificates to the Liaoning Shuangzeng Food Development Group regarding the group's Donggang swimming crabs, big yellow clams and variegated clams.

The geographical identification certificates are given to agricultural products from specific regions. The product's quality and features depend on natural ecological environments and historical and cultural environments. The identification certificates are important quality marks for agricultural products.

The coastal waters of Donggang are famous areas for quality seafood products. Donggang exports 2,500 tons of swimming crabs annually at a value of $20 million. Donggang's big yellow clams and Yalu river noodle fish are known as the most famous seafood of Dandong. They have become symbolic brands of high-grade seafood in northeast China, Hebei and Tianjin. Donggang cultivates 58,000 tons of variegated clams annually, with 35,000 tons processed for export. It sells 40 varieties of the five major series of the products to Japan, the ROK, Europe and the United States.

To date, Donggang has built up a complete industrial chain for seafood products, covering raising seedlings, cultivation, processing and export. The geographical identification enables the products to enter the domestic and international markets, upgrading their international competitiveness. The products can also create more economic values and gather scattered fishermen, aquatics farmers, and processing and export companies to turn local special products into competitive name brands of Dandong.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Clark Cahill