Development of Rice Production and Marketing at State Farm and Private Rice Enterprises in the Sanjiang Plain of China : A case study of JianSanjiang Administrative Bureau

Heilongjiang Province is the largest production area of Japonica rice in China, and is led by the state farm system (agricultural reclamation). The processing and sales part of rice production is operated by Beidahuang Group Co. Ltd., one of the three biggest companies of its kind in China. However, looking at rice sales of individual state farms, Beidahuang Group's sales have decreased amidst the changes in current farming enterprises and the growth of new private companies seen since the reformation of state-owned enterprises at the end of the 1990s. The JianSanjiang Administrative Bureau was chosen for the case study because it oversees the most newly developed rice production area, with a rapidly expanding production scale, and it accounts for 50% of the state farm system. The purpose of the case study is to analyze the differences between the business models of Beidahuang Group and private companies. The analysis reveals that Beidahuang Group concentrates on selling unhulled rice, whereas private companies have higher sales in polished rice