"China's Potato Hometown" French fries go global through "cold chain artery"

China News Service, Yinchuan, November 10 (Reporter Yang Di) The reporter learned from the Guyuan Sales Department of Yinchuan Railway Logistics Center on the 10th that since the first railway cold chain transportation of French fries in Ningxia, the sales department has shipped a total of 17,791 tons of French fries.

Guyuan is known as the “Hometown of Potatoes in China”. In 2021, an intelligent production line was built locally, and frozen French fries are exported to more than 40 countries and regions.

In the past, most of these fries relied on road transportation, but the temperature fluctuated greatly during the journey. During the investigation, Guyuan Sales Department learned about the company's shipping difficulties, and cooperated with relevant companies to use 40-foot powered refrigerated containers for transportation. Finally, the first cold chain transportation of French fries was successfully launched in November 2024 to ensure the original taste of French fries.

However, the 40-foot powered refrigerated box can only be transported by BX-type special vehicles. The options for the vehicle models are relatively single. Moreover, the diesel generator set has not been started before the goods are packed into the box. The box is in the "window period" of power outage. It takes more than an hour to cool down before the goods are put into the box, and the waiting time for the goods to be boxed is long.

To this end, Guyuan Sales Department installed a power supply device for refrigerated containers in the cargo yard. The box is connected to the mains power as soon as it enters the site. After loading, it switches to self-generated power. The intelligent temperature control system in the box monitors and automatically adjusts it in real time. Li Haiming, manager of the sales department, said that this approach improves transportation efficiency and saves transportation costs.

According to reports, Guyuan Sales Department plans to ship 1,100 tons of French fries in November. In the next step, the sales department will continue to delve into marketing, visit surrounding agricultural product processing enterprises door to door, and formulate logistics and transportation plans for each enterprise, so that more agricultural products from Ningxia can go out by train.