A vegetable dealer sorts out vegetables at the newly opened Ningbo Agricultural and Sideline Products Logistics Center. [Photo/WeChat account: nbfb0574]

The Ningbo Agricultural and Sideline Products Logistics Center has recently begun operating, according to local media reports. 

The market, roughly the size of 43 football fields, is located in the Ningnan Trade Logistics Park in the city's Fenghua district.

The market's first phase finished construction last year, costing 800 million yuan ($115.94 million). It is divided into three sections: a vegetable trading area, a meat, poultry, and eggs trading area and an additional supporting area. 

The vegetable area covers an area of 56,000 square meters, while the meat, poultry, and eggs area covers an area of 12,000 square meters. 

A huge variety of vegetables are available, ranging from tomatoes and potatoes from Heilongjiang province, to wax gourd and corn from Hainan province, to vegetables from Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The market began trial operations on May 30 and it now accommodates nearly 600 tenants.

Li Runlong, a local vegetable seller, said that he saw more buyers from cities such as Zhoushan, Taizhou, and Yuyao after relocating his stall to the new market.

His daily vegetable sales stood at four metric tons, and in June, his sales witnessed an increase of 10 percent over the previous month.

Construction on the market's second phase is currently underway, which will focus on frozen products. 

The market, after finishing construction, will be a critical part of the nation's agricultural and sideline products circulation network. It will serve nearly 10 million people in Ningbo and its surrounding areas, and is expected to generate 10 billion yuan in annual turnover.