Zhanjiang fruits undergo 'premiumising'

The local fruits of Zhanjiang city have developed in a "premiumising" way through characteristic planting, based on geographic advantages or by brand building. The premiumising development of fruits was one of the reasons for the rise of fruit prices, yet it was also a demonstration of people's pursuit for a higher quality life and a way to improve fruit growers' incomes.

Characteristic planting: seedless lychee

A fruit grower cultivates seedless lychee with their full attention. [Photo/gdzjdaily.com.cn]

There is a lychee orchard at Zhanchuang village, Suixi county. The lychee produced there can be sold for more than 200 yuan ($28.88) per kilogram, a few times higher than ordinary ones. They have always been presented to guests as luxury gifts.

The trees of seedless lychee look the same as ordinary ones, but can produce bigger fruit. The locals like to call them "couple lychee" and "lovebirds lychee," "as the fruit always grows in pairs.

Liang Yu, who is in charge of the orchard, explained that it was difficult to cultivate seedless lychee. He has been growing this kind of fruit for seven years, but only started to sell it in the last two years. It took him five years to cultivate the trees before they started to bear fruit, while ordinary ones only need two or three years. During the process, he was also required to spend more time to trim the trees, as well as select and retain the stronger flowers and fruit.

Though it is not easy to grow, the seedless lychee has been well received by the market for its much smaller seed, thick pulp, and special taste. Seedless lychee actually have a seed. There is a rice-size seed hiding in its light-yellow pulp, but it is so small that it can be ignored. Compared with ordinary lychee, the seedless one tastes sweet and a bit sour. Liang said that his fruits are suitable for diabetics and pregnant women as it contains less sugar.

Geographic advantage: Qindou mango

Qindou mangoes hanging on trees. [Photo/gdzjdaily.com.cn]

The price of Qindou mangoes also rose this year. Ms. Yang, who is a fruit merchant, explained that the price of a box of five-kilogram mangoes has risen from 100 yuan to 120 yuan this year.

The special taste of those mangoes produced in Qindou town is responsible for such higher prices. The requirements for the growing land have limited the fruits' outputs, making the price rise.

The production area of Qindou mangoes boasts a subtropical marine monsoon climate featuring a high temperature, sufficient sunlight, as well low humidity and rainfall. The laterite soil in the area has good permeability and is full of microelements, such as calcium, boron, and zinc. There is also abundant unpolluted underground water to cultivate the fruit.

Qindou mangoes boast a unique taste, small seeds, and thick pulp. It is full of nutrition and easy to preserve. It had been granted with a number of honors, such as "China's Mango King" .

Brand building: Lianjiang blood orange

Lianjiang blood orange. [Photo/gdzjdaily.com.cn]

Lianjiang blood orange has been a successful case of brand building, mainly due to the support provided from local government. Since 2008, the government started to spend one million yuan each year to develop blood oranges. Preferential policies were also released to develop the fruit. The government also cooperated with academic institutions to breed disease-free seedlings.

Since 2003, the Lianjiang Blood Orange Tourism Culture Festival had been held 13 times and developed into a platform for trade and investment promotion, as well as products and tourism resources recommendations. Merchants from home and abroad, as well as projects with high quality, were attracted to help promote the local economy.

Opinions on "premiumising" fruits

Chen Hongwen, associate professor of the CPC Zhanjiang Municipal Committee, analyzed the premiumisation development of fruits by saying that the change of people's consumption tastes has encouraged them to spend more money to buy better fruit. The investment from local government and fruit growers for fruit growing, as well as the building of brands have enhanced the fruits' value. Chen said that premiumising fruits can help boost local economies.