Guizhou farmers reap sweet gains with honey locust

By leveraging the advantages of a subtropical climate and fertile soil, Zhijin county of Bijie in the mountainous province of Guizhou hopes to become a national production and commercial center for Chinese honey locusts, whose fruit can be used for making medicines. This has brought financial vibrancy to local farmers.

An industrial park in Zhijin has become an important processing and sales center nationwide for the fruit kernels of honey locusts. The products can also be used in making food and chemicals for daily use.

The center processes more than 1,000 metric tons of the products annually, accounting for over 90 percent of the market share nationwide, which helps with rural revitalization.

Products such as saponin and peach gum, which have cosmetic functions, especially for women, have been sold in Guangdong and Fujian provinces, in addition to being exported to Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore and Thailand. Annual sales revenues of the products have exceeded 300 million yuan ($46.9 million), according to the local government.

"Shelling the fruit kernels of honey locusts is like peeling sunflower seeds, and there is no age or time limit for doing the work. I can make an additional 2,000 yuan of income a month on average by peeling the fruit kernels," said Zhong Tiantian, a local farmer.

The county has planted about 35,000 hectares of honey locust trees, with more than 250,000 people involved in the business related to the plant. More than 75,000 impoverished farmers have become better off by engaging in related work, the local government said.

Yao Jiyu, who was born after 1990, is a livestreaming host in Zhijin, and he holds livestreaming sessions regularly in the industrial park. The building of the industrial park costs more than 6 million yuan, and the fruit kernels of the honey locusts that he sold have been quite popular among consumers.

Yao is among a group of young people who hold livestreaming sessions locally. The local government cooperates with a number of livestreaming companies and hopes to build better reputations and expand sales of the products through e-commerce platforms.

The local government said it will also actively organize local producers to participate in more agricultural exhibitions and further expand sales channels by utilizing the internet.

Guizhou Meizitang Food Sales Co Ltd, a major company that makes products related to honey locust and is based in Zhijin, operates online stores on major e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba Group's Taobao and Tmall, as well as Pinduoduo, and it has seen a boom in sales online.

Last year, the company purchased more than 100 tons of raw materials and sold over 40 tons of finished products. The total output value exceeded 48 million yuan, the company said.

"Our products have been mainly sold in Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong provinces, and sold to Southeast Asian countries," said Xie Wei, president of Guizhou Meizitang.