William R. Johnson, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Heinz Company announced on his first visit to China to team up with Xinjiang Tunhe, a subsidiary of China's COFCO Group, to develop a "red tomato industry" in China.

Mr. Johnson said Heinz was about to invest 100 million USD on tomato planting in China. The Tunhe project fits perfectly into this broader program. He also said the initial success Heinz shared with Tunhe reinforced Heinz's further capital and technology commitment.

Related sources show Tunhe, currently Asia's largest tomato processing company, already enjoys a 17% share in the international trade in tomato products.