You want to know who we are? Gladly: Our shareholders are Jenny Min Zhang from Weifang Jiahe Food Co. LTD and graduate agricultural engineer Ralf Settels. They founded Jiahe Food GmbH on 1 August 2019 and have been working closely together since 2008. Ralf Settels knows the cultivation areas and production conditions at China's largest producer of organic ginger, Weifang Jiahe Food Co. LTD, very well. Weifang Jiahe Food Co. LTD grows organic ginger on 150 hectares in the Guanxi region of China and sells around 6,000 tonnes of traditional ginger annually from certified contract farms. They market their produce in China and for export. Sales and agricultural professional Settels and Jenny Min Zhang are already working together during his personal visits on site. In 2019, the plan was implemented to place marketing and representation with Jiahe Food GmbH in the hands of a subsidiary. Since then, the signs have been pointing to growth: slow, but sustainable and reliable.
After organic ginger from China as a product at the start, another partner with its product was quickly added to the programme with organic ginger from Peru. Ralf Settels has been working closely with the Peruvian family business Interloom of the Hardy family since 2009. Thus, Peruvian ginger became the second exclusive organic product of Jiahe Food GmbH. Interloom grows organic ginger on 51 hectares and organic turmeric on 5 hectares in Peru. Here they work in one of the most modern packing houses in Peru.
Since 2020, Jiahe Food GmbH has been cooperating with the Weyers company in the well-known Fresh Park Venlo.
There they have one of the most modern warehouses in the Netherlands: not only is a state-of-the-art packing station integrated into a good 20,000 m2 . Thanks to its own photovoltaic power supply, storage and processing are climate-neutral. For the employees, there are bright recreation and social rooms that meet current requirements for a good working atmosphere.
Jiahe Food GmbH has also been cooperating with the Spanish family business Ayllon since 2020. The family grows aubergines, cereals, carrots, peppers, beetroot and sweetcorn on an area of 384 hectares. Another 60 hectares are reserved for our sweet potatoes. Since 2011, the farm has been fully certified organic according to European standards. Cultivation, storage and processing remain in the hands of the Ayllon family business.
Since 2021, Jiahe Food GmbH has been working together with Kibbutz Nirim in Israel. The kibbutz has existed since 1946 and is one of the oldest and leading fresh produce producers in Israel. It is the largest sweet potato producer in Israel. Here, too, cultivation, storage and processing, as well as export, are all in one hand.
In 2022, we could win the Bio Gut Schulze Altcappenberg as a partner: From there, we will obtain our pumpkins and courgettes exclusively. Directly from NRW, from genuine EU organic cultivation. They attach great importance to a fair treatment of nature and people. The organic farm, which covers about 250 hectares, has had Naturland status since 1987. In 2021, investments were made in a state-of-the-art production hall with 2,100 m2 of pure organic production area. Here, a photovoltaic system and a state-of-the-art processing plant ensure a climate-neutral production contribution.