Hong Kong, Aug 20 - China Green (Holdings) Ltd , which grows and sells vegetables, rice and beverages, says China will account for 65 percent of sales in three years as it ramps up sales of higher margin branded products at home.
China Green, which competes with Chaoda Modern Agriculture and makes most of its money selling fresh produce, currently derives 47 percent of turnover from exports to Japan, Russia, Egypt, and other countries.
But it is betting that higher incomes and food safety concerns will spur Chinese consumers to buy its corn milk, instant noodles, and other branded products.
"The overall demand for green products is getting stronger and stronger and the growth of our branded business in China will be much faster than overseas," Chairman and Managing Director Sun Shao Feng told Reuters on Wednesday.
The firm also sells corn to McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken in China and sees potential for other deals with the global fast food giants.
"We sell to their central offices and aren't sure how our corn is distributed across their restaurant chains," Sun said.
"But there is a lot of potential for this part of our business," he said.
Agribusiness has caught on slowly in China, a country that grows almost half the world's vegetables. Small family-run farms still account for the majority of the country's output, but a number of agricultural concerns are scrambling to expand.
On Tuesday, China Green posted a 36 percent jump in annual profit to 470.9 million yuan in the year ended April.
Shares in the firm soared as much as 16 percent in Wednesday morning trade, easily outperforming the nearly 1.6 percent climb on the benchmark Hang Seng Index.