Engineering agro-food development: The cluster model in China

Abstract

The concept of industrial clusters has been around for some time. For many national and regional authorities, particularly in the United States and Europe, cluster development policies became the core for the new development paradigm based on the agglomeration economy. The potential of clusters for the development of a new model for the agro-food industry was recognized at an early stage. Both the United States and Europehave developed a strong base of agro-food clusters. Also in developing countries, where agriculture is the main economical source, a strong ally to change their economy has been found in clusters.Latin Americahas many good examples of agro-based clusters. The Asian region is now starting to include the agro-foodclusters into the mainstream of changes inagriculture, farming and food industry. The case in China is very relevant, as the potential it holds for agro-food development is enormous. In this communication, the state of agro-based clusters inChinais described together with two examples of clusters, one specialized in vegetables and other in flowers.