China's entry into the World Trade Organization will drag its impoverished countryside into the global economy. Foreign competition is expected to put millions of small, inefficient farms out of business. But many farmers are betting WTO will also be an opportunity to sell more produce to rich overseas markets.

Experts say China, with its sufficient supply of cheap labor, could become a major exporter of agricultural goods.

They say it could dominate in products that require intensive manual labor to grow or prepare -- green vegetables, nuts, fruit, dressed meats like shrimp or chicken. These goods also promise higher profit margins to Chinese farmers.

The exports could also help offset an expected influx of wheat, corn and soy beans from countries with large, mechanized farms like the United States.

"China has great potential. Anything that is labor-intensive, you can do cheaper here. Not just computers and clothes, but broccoli and oranges, too," said Li Xiaoming, deputy director of Anhui Agricultural University, in the central city of Hefei.

China's sales abroad were rising even before its December entry into WTO. Last year, its agricultural exports jumped by 25 percent to US$16.7 billion. The United States, by contrast, exported US$54 billion worth of farm products in 2001.