A view of Mars' M&M's chocolate factory in Huairou district of Beijing on Monday Photo: Zhang Hongpei/GT

There has been an increase in production of high oleic acid peanuts in China, but there is still a lot of growth potential, senior executives and industry analysts said Monday.

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the high oleic acid peanut program at its Beijing factory on Monday, US food maker Mars Inc realized the production of the first batch of its M&M's chocolate products containing the peanut purchased domestically earlier this year. The peanut is raw material for the chocolate and Mars conducted its local purchase for the first time in 2018.

Compared with traditional peanuts, high oleic acid peanuts are easier to store and have a longer shelf life, increasing their economic value.

As the world's largest peanut producing country, accounting for around 40 percent of the world's output, China still lags behind in terms of high oleic acid peanut production compared with other countries such as the US, Argentina and Australia, said Vinson Xue, Regional Vice President Commercial-China at Mars Wrigley Confectionery (China).

"In the past decade, there has been a decline in China's peanut exports because local production could not keep up with the global trend," Xue said. But it means there is a lot that can be done, such as building up a complete and mature supply chain to boost the whole sector, he noted.

Currently, only 20 percent of the high oleic acid peanuts in M&M's chocolate is purchased in China due to the small scale of domestic crops and inadequate quality. "We want to bring that figure up to 100 percent in the next two or three years," Xue said.

Compared with traditional peanuts, producing high oleic acid peanuts can increase farmers' income by 150 yuan per mu (0.07 hectares).

China has been promoting high oleic acid peanut production in recent years and has cultivated more than 50 seed varieties, nearly equal to the number of the US, and the number is expected to exceed that of the US in the future, said Wang Jijun, director of the Oil Division at the National Agro-tech Extension and Service Center.

The planting area for high oleic acid peanuts has reached two million mu so far, up from around 100,000 mu in 2016, and the number is likely to hit five to six million next year, said Wang.

He told the Global Times on Monday that high oleic acid peanuts represent the future for peanut planting, which can yield a fruitful outcome in China.

To help establish a complete supply chain for the peanuts, food safety management is equally important, as peanuts are prone to being polluted by some kinds of fungus.

"Safe food has no borders and we should ensure food safety regardless of any trade disputes or disagreement between countries. Everyone has the right to safe food," Abigail Stevenson, director of Mars Global Food Safety Center, told the Global Times on Monday when asked if the ongoing trade tensions between China and the US would have any impact on agricultural technology collaboration.