Xiangyang Daily (Zhu Xian and Peng Yuejiao, the All-media Journalists, and Gong Liangjie and Zhang Pengliang, the Correspondents) Recently, a container carrying 12 tons of shiitake mushrooms, black fungus, shiitake mushroom sauce, fruit and vegetable crisps, and shiitake mushroom crisps arrived at the port of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This marks the first batch of goods received by the overseas cloud warehouses of Nanzhang County Yunong Mushroom Industry Co., Ltd. (short for Yunong Mushroom Industry), with a total value reaching up to 1.7 million yuan.

The camera shifts its focus to Donggong Town in Nanzhang County, Xiangyang, Hubei Province, where continuous mushroom greenhouses and modern processing workshops create a distinctive scenic landscape.

“We adopted a ‘domestically collecting goods and overseas distribution’ model, reducing the response time for Southeast Asian orders from 7 days to 3 days. This approach lowers logistics costs by 20% while boosting sales by 40% year-on-year this fiscal year,” Wang Zuliang, Chairman of Yunong Fungi Industry, was assessing inventory while formulating the subsequent shipping plan. “We aim to dispatch an additional three containers in April. If all goes as planned, our sales in Malaysia could reach 60 million yuan in 2025.”

Many years ago, Wang was an ordinary vendor traveling across the country, tirelessly selling Nanzhang shiitake mushrooms to major wholesale markets in China. However, the competition within the domestic market is extremely fierce, and the profit margins for shiitake mushrooms have been continually squeezed. As everyone seeks a way out, many of his colleagues have turned their attention overseas. “I believe that instead of striving for recognition within China, it is more advantageous to venture abroad and explore new opportunities,” Wang Zuliang said.

In 2014, Wang registered and established the Liangquan Brothers Edible Fungi Professional Cooperative. In 2015, Yunong Mushroom Industry was founded and obtained its first organic certification. In November 2017, its factory started production, with primary processed products such as dried shiitake mushrooms and fungi in international markets. Within just over a month, the company achieved an export record of $600,000. In 2019, it further expanded its operations by engaging in deep processing to enhance the value of local agricultural products.

Although the sales of rough processed products are substantial, expanding the market share of high-value-added ready-to-eat products has consistently proven challenging due to excessive reliance on overseas agents as a sales channel. “Selling goods to intermediaries results in significantly low profit margins, further complicating the collection of payments. It is not uncommon for payment delays to extend up to a year,” Wang frowned, his voice filled with helplessness. The company’s shiitake mushroom exports to Thailand were priced lower by importers, leading to a direct reduction in profit per kilogram by 4 to 8 yuan, nearly resulting in a total loss.

Although Yunong Mushroom Industry possesses the two “trump cards” of “China’s National Geographic Indication Product” and “organic certification,” it remains a “hidden supplier” in the international market. This is primarily due to its sales channels being controlled by external parties, which hampers its ability to leverage its strengths effectively. In 2024, its export value declined from 130 million yuan in 2023 to just over 50 million yuan.

“Customer resources must be firmly in our own hands!” To overcome the challenge of dependency on external control and to optimize the output from five production lines, each capable of producing 400 tons per year of ready-to-eat fruit and vegetable crisps, Wang led eleven teams to conduct comprehensive investigations across Southeast Asia in 2024. They developed a “logistics map” and ultimately decided to establish overseas cloud warehouses in Kuala Lumpur, enabling direct supply to the end market.

Building cloud warehouses is challenging as it involves renting a facility, obtaining necessary documentation, and complying with stringent overseas testing standards. Nevertheless, the company has embraced this formidable challenge. In October 2024, it established its overseas cloud warehouses in Kuala Lumpur. By November, the overseas cloud warehouses officially commenced operations. In December, the company registered and founded Singapore Fuyuan International Import and Export Trading Company in Singapore.

However, to establish a foothold in the international market, it is important to develop an independent brand and create proprietary sales channels. Consequently, Yunong Mushroom Industry has formed a local sales team to secure pricing power through direct supply to supermarkets, Amazon cross-border e-commerce platforms, and TikTok live streaming sales. Simultaneously, efforts are being made to actively apply for international trademark registration, enabling Nanzhang’s featured agricultural products from mountain areas to be repackaged in overseas cloud warehouses and confidently enter the global market.

Wang Zuliang told journalists that the overseas cloud warehouses are linked to the “commonwealth chain” in the remote mountains.

Yunong Mushroom Industry implements a “three guarantees and one assurance” model, including a mushroom stick supply, technical guidance, product recycling, and guaranteed purchasing. The company has recruited over 2,000 mushroom farmers to establish a standardized planting base comprising one million bags, continuously expanding and strengthening the industry. “We enjoy a steady annual profit of 60,000 to 70,000 yuan!” Wang Mingcai, a mushroom farmer, expressed his satisfaction with a smile on his face.

In the deep processing workshop, machines operate with a powerful hum as local fruits and vegetables, such as purple sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and okra, undergo low-temperature crisping. This process transforms them into internet-famous snacks priced at $2 per pack. Each production line processes an average of 10 tons of agricultural products daily, prompting nearby villagers to cultivate over 1,000 mu of fruits and vegetables in response to rising demand.

“The fields function as workshops, enabling the direct transformation of common local agricultural products into high-quality goods!” Wang Zuliang pointed to the newly installed milk tea production line and said, “Once operational in June, this line will process 3 million kilograms of ginkgo fruits annually, enhancing the efficiency of agricultural cooperation by 30%. Our annual output value will exceed 200 million yuan.”