Leveraging its natural advantages—clean water, fertile soil, favorable climate, and good ecological environment—Huai'an has taken the lead in advancing two industries – crayfish and rice. The city has progressively established five characteristic industry clusters: premium rice, crayfish, large-scale livestock and poultry breeding, crabs, and green vegetables, fostering eight comprehensive industry chains with a total output value surpassing RMB 100 billion. Notably, Huai’an accounts for half of Jiangsu’s total crayfish farming area and production, with an annual processing capacity exceeding 50,000 tons and cold storage capacity over 100,000 tons. The "Xuyi Crayfish" brand is valued at RMB 35.312 billion, ranking first nationwide among geographical indication aquatic products for ten consecutive years. The premium rice industry has also achieved remarkable results, with a core base of 226,700 mu (about 151.13 square kilometers) developed, a total planting area of 4.85 million mu (about 3233.33 square kilometers), and an annual output of nearly 3 million tons. The crab industry maintains a solid market position, with 270,000 mu (about 180 square kilometers) of aquaculture and over 30,000 tons in annual output. The “Hongze Lake Hairy Crab” brand is valued at RMB 15.4 billion and enjoys widespread market recognition.

To further strengthen the industrial foundation, Huai'an has concentrated on building, reinforcing, and enhancing its industrial chains. The city has attracted and launched several projects of deep processing of agricultural products, new forms of rural industries, and high-tech agriculture, including the Wilson modified starch processing project with a total investment of RMB 500 million and the Zhongxing edible mushroom processing project with a total investment of RMB 1 billion, achieving breakthroughs in deep processing. In 2024, Huai'an launched 58 major agricultural projects valued at over RMB 100 million and completed 49 of such projects, continuously injecting strong momentum into industrial upgrading. At the same time, the city has effectively integrated policy resources, establishing one national-level agricultural modernization demonstration zone and two national modern agricultural industrial parks, creating a well-structured and functionally complementary platform matrix.