On the outskirts of Beijing, workers are attending to tomatoes at Wang Liufeng's greenhouse, the former electronics manager switching to farming two years ago and what turned out to be a money-making move.
"Food prices have gone up in the markets," she says, "which means profits here for us."
Prices for all sorts of food have been going up, pushing inflation in China to its highest level in two years. For 2011, the government has vowed to combat rising prices to keep food affordable for its people and prevent any social unrest.
"Prices have definitely gone up," the shopper says, "Things are more expensive across the board than past year."
But while most complaining about their ever increasing grocery bill, others are taking advantage, sparking a trend worldwide, including China.
The prices of vegetables in China are rising in the double digits. The high prices are encouraging more people to invest in farming.
Here in a country where rural incomes have lagged behind. More people are looking to work the land. The government is offering financial incentives, helping Wang open ten greenhouses throughout the year.
"We are making more now," she says, "and with government subsidies, I have done better than in my previous line of work."
But inflation has also raised the cost of farming. The higher price of fuel, labour and other materials has been eating into farmers' profits.
If you look at the data, actually there has been bad weather. And because there is a production decline, that's why and there has also been problems in transport. Transport costs have increased. There is not a, you know, clear winner.
Yet with so many greenhouses, Wang feels like an unexpected winner in this global food crisis.
Eunice Yoon, cnn, Wang Mu Ying.
