Anton Tscherne: Mr Zhao, thank you for visiting our office all the way from Shandong, China.
Mr Zhao: It is a pleasure to be here.
Anton Tscherne: Can you please tell us the name of your company?
Mr. Zhao: Zaozhuang ChangHong GuoPinkaifa Co., Ltd
Anton Tscherne: Your company is located in Shandong. Could you please tell us a little bit about this area. I believe Shandong Province is approximately the same size as the state of Georgia, in the USA.
Mr . Zhao: Shandong is a coastal province. Shandong is mostly flat in terrain. The center of the province is more mountainous, with Mount Tai being the most prominent. Shandong's coastline is 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) long.
Anton Tscherne: How about Shandong's economy?
Mr . Zhao: As early as 1832, Shandong was exporting fruits, vegetables, wine, and deer skin, often heading to Guangzhou in exchange for clothing and fabrics
Anton Tscherne: Can you tell us about your company?
Mr. Zhao: The Company Zaozhuang Long Red Fruit Development Co., Ltd. is located in Zaozhuang within the long red jujube base acreage - Dianzi.
It was founded in March 2001. The company has fixed assets of 30 million yuan,
Anton Tscherne: How many employees do you have?
Mr. Zhao: The company has 268 employees and has a base of 80,000 mu long dates.
Anton Tscherne: Does your company process the dates and package them?
Mr . Zhao: Yes. We have a number of jujube processing lines.
Anton Tscherne: What are the main products?
Mr . Zhao: The main products are net long election dates, Miguel dates, the date pile, Miguel fruit and long jujube juice products.
Anton Tscherne: How long is the growing season for these dates?
Mr . Zhao: There are two growing seasons per year.
Anton Tscherne: Could you tell us some of the benefits of your food?
Mr. Zhao: It is very healthy. It was a A HEALTHY SNACK FOOD Eaten at 2008 Beijing Olympics
Anton Tscherne: Are there different varieties of dates?
Mr. Zhao: Yes. There are about 5 varities. We sell a date that is used as a snack in bars which many young people like. We also just sell the dates. These dates can also be used in sandwiches. Very delicious.
The dates can also be used to make jam and also they can be put in hot water to make tea.
Anton Tscherne: I tried your dates today and they were really great tasting. I never ate dates before and the taste was very good for westerners. I love snacks and truly believe that your date snacks taste better than boring potato chips which are sold in all USA supermarkets. I see a large potential for these date snacks in the USA.
Anton Tscherne: What are your yearly sales of dates in China?
Mr. Zhao: In 2014 we sold 50 million packages within China.
Anton Tscherne: You currently sell your dates in China. Do you wish now to export to USA or Europe?
Mr. Zhao: Yes. We would like to make contact with large food importers in the United States.
Anton Tscherne: Do you have a minimum order amount?
Mr. Zhao: We would like to sell perhaps each container of dates which weights about 20 tons. However we would like to perhaps sell larger amounts like 100 tons which would be in five containers?
Anton Tscherne: What port in China can you send from.
Mr. Zhao: We can send the dates from the port of Qingdao which is nearby.
Anton Tscherne: Can you also do individual packaging according the the American or European buyeer.
Mr. Zhao: Yes. We have a design team that can make packing and branding according the the buyers requirements.
Anton Tscherne: The dates I ate came in a bag which was 20 grams of dates.
Mr. Zhao: Yes. That is a good size for selling as snacks in supermarkets
Anton Tscherne: I looked at your website and noticed a nice video about the processing of dates and your plant.
I just want to say that these dates are truly delicious and Mr. Zhao does the entire process from collecting from the growers to processing to packaging. I highly recommend your dates.
Mr. Zhao: Thank you
