A farm on Chongming Island has unveiled a grain depot that can freeze rice, keeping it as fresh as the day it was harvested.

Changjiang Farm, a state-owned farm, said yesterday it was the first time the Taiwan-developed technology had been used on the mainland.

The depot can hold 1,000 tons of rice and was completed before this year's Spring Festival at a cost of about six million yuan (US$750,000), according to a farm manager surnamed Ling.

"In the past, the rice would become less fresh and tasty when it was kept for a long time and it would easily go moldy in the rainy season," Ling said. "With the freezing technology, people can eat rice with that newly harvested taste all year round."

Ling said the new depot was still on trial and its capacity was small compared to the farm's total yield.

The farm plans to expand the depot's volume to 4,000 tons in three to five years.

(Source: www.shanghai.gov.cn )