In the height of summer, a grand event dedicated to the pea industry has kicked off with great enthusiasm.

　　On June 23, the 2026 China International Pea Conference kicked off in Zhaoyuan. Industry associations, farming organizations, research institutions, leading enterprises, and domestic supply-chain professionals from China as well as major global pea-producing countries—including Canada, the United States, Russia, Argentina, and Kazakhstan—converged in Zhaoyuan, the “Capital of Peas,” to attend this annual event. Through discussions on global pea‑industry trade, technological innovation, and collaborative development, and leveraging Zhaoyuan’s robust deep-processing infrastructure, the conference has established an integrated platform for international exchange, economic and trade matchmaking, and the commercialization of scientific and technological advances. This initiative aims to help local industries expand into global markets and jointly open up new frontiers for high‑quality growth in the pea sector.

　　At 9:00 a.m., the conference officially opened, with Cao Derong, President of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Foodstuffs, Native Products and Animal By‑products, and Yang Junmin, Chairman of the Pea Products Branch of the same chamber, taking to the podium in turn to deliver remarks, thus ushering in this major international industry event.

　　Cao Derong, President of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Foodstuffs, Native Products and Animal By‑products, attended the conference and delivered a speech. He noted that China’s pea trade currently benefits from three favorable factors while facing one significant challenge. The positives include the continued expansion of China’s agricultural market opening-up and a generally more conducive trade environment, which together create an enabling backdrop for boosting trade and expanding business opportunities. Meanwhile, the outlook for pea consumption is promising: as global interest in plant‑based foods and healthy diets grows, the value of peas is being increasingly recognized. Peas are a high‑quality source of plant protein and a rich source of dietary fiber, offering substantial health benefits when consumed. Consequently, their value and market potential are becoming ever more apparent, positioning peas as a key raw material for meeting domestic consumption upgrades and driving innovation in the food industry. However, the pea industry’s supply chain also faces mounting challenges: frequent extreme weather events in major international production regions, regional conflicts, intensifying geopolitical tensions, disruptions to maritime shipping routes, soaring freight rates, and volatile exchange rates—all of which have adversely affected pea production, trade, and transportation costs, posing a severe test to the resilience of the entire industry chain. In this dynamic international trade landscape, Mr. Cao urged pea‑industry enterprises to closely monitor policy developments, strengthen their capacity for domestic self‑reliance and control, and strategically break through existing bottlenecks. By deeply analyzing consumer markets and sharing insights on cutting‑edge technologies and product innovations, they can further unlock both domestic and international market potential, ensuring that peas and their derivative products become better integrated into Chinese households’ daily diets and helping the industry transition from a “raw‑material‑driven” model to one powered by brands and consumer demand.

　　Yang Junmin, Chairman of the Pea Products Branch of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By‑products, delivered a key address at the conference. He stated that hosting this International Pea Conference in Zhaoyuan represents the industry’s high recognition of Zhaoyuan’s pivotal role as the global hub for pea protein and Longkou vermicelli clusters, and also marks an important opportunity to leverage this major industry event to boost local development and connect with global markets. As the world’s largest cluster for the advanced processing of peas, Zhaoyuan will, through this international forum, bring together global industry experts, traders, and manufacturers, thereby helping local industries expand overseas, deepen their presence in international markets, and establish a new world‑class center for the pea industry.

　　Faced with the industry‑wide challenges posed by recent anti‑dumping and countervailing duty investigations targeting Chinese pea protein overseas, he called on the entire sector to proactively embrace change and break through bottlenecks with precision, seizing greater business opportunities amid the crisis. First, he urged the extension and refinement of the full industrial value chain, pooling high‑quality resources across technology, research, and marketing channels to continuously lengthen the value‑added chain and strengthen industrial clusters. This will drive the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries toward high‑end, health‑focused food sectors, unlocking higher value and leveraging a single “golden pea” to catalyze new momentum for the pea industry and propel it toward higher‑value‑added development. Second, he emphasized deepening product innovation and R&D, launching functional new products such as protein peptides, low‑GI offerings, and organic protein vermicelli to meet consumers’ growing demand for diversity and health, thereby securing international market influence through differentiated products. Third, he advocated harnessing digital and intelligent technologies to build competitive advantages, accelerating digital and smart upgrades. By deploying end‑to‑end traceability management systems, the industry can transition from conventional manufacturing to smart manufacturing, shifting from “mass production” to “precision manufacturing” and from “extensive” to “refined” operations, enabling the sector to overtake competitors through strategic leaps.

　　Following the opening ceremony, a series of high‑profile presentations on the international pea industry kicked off. Greg Cherewyk, President of the Canadian Pulse Association; Pak Anastasia, Representative of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture in China; Tim McGreevy, CEO of the U.S. Small Grains Council; and Martin Schon of Argentina’s Elementa Foods, among other leading international experts, took to the stage to analyze each country’s pea‑cultivation capacity, industry structure, and global trade trends.

　　That afternoon, the Global Pea Industry Exchange and the Trade Roundtable were held concurrently. Industry representatives from Canada, the United States, Russia, Argentina, Kazakhstan, and other countries engaged in in-depth discussions with enterprises across China, deepening cooperation, thoroughly analyzing the global legume market landscape, and advancing the establishment of long-term, stable trade‑cooperation mechanisms among producing and consuming nations. Participants focused on end-to-end supply-chain resources—from field to table—and, drawing on Zhaoyuan City’s industrial strengths in pea protein, starch, and cellophane noodle processing, jointly explored ways to address market volatility through logistics optimization, technological advancement, and information sharing.

　　A single small pea carries the promise of a bright future for the industry. Held in Zhaoyuan and connecting the world, the 2026 China International Pea Conference embodies both the earnest hope of driving the local real economy to new heights across the entire value chain and the ambitious vision of the domestic pea industry to deepen its presence in global markets and strengthen its voice on the international stage. The conference will forge a shared consensus within the global legume sector, pool high‑quality resources worldwide, and unite industry stakeholders in a spirit of collaboration and mutual success—seizing opportunities amid shifting times to write a new chapter in the high‑quality, internationally oriented development of the pea industry.