Ninghai fruit growers move to processing industry
- Details
- Category: Ningbo Business
- Published: Monday, 17 December 2012 09:05
White loquat, a widely known fruit grown in Ningbo's Ninghai County, is expected to bring more profit to local farmers. In Yishi Township, a major loquat plantation, the loquat processing industry begins to take shape.
As the annual blossom season sets in, the loquat trees are creating one of the most stunning scenes. To ensure a good harvest, the farmers are picking up unnecessary flowers. Numerous petals are falling down. The clever farmers will collect them and make flower tea and wine with it.
After ten years of painstaking efforts, Yishi Township boasts 1.2 million acres of the white loquat trees, which brings an output value of 150 million yuan. Loquat planting has become one of the leading farming industries in the town. However, the local farmers were not content to be fruit growers or sellers. They learned through experiments and innovations and started their fruit processing industry to enlarge their income.
Meiqi Beverage Company is the only producer of white loquat tea with loquat petals in Ningbo. Chen Zaixi, the general manager, said that he accidentally saw local villagers picking up white loquat flowers and making tea with the petals a few years ago. He could not help trying the tea and the good scent is unforgettable. In cooperation with Ningbo Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang University and other research institutions, he did a research over the medical efficacy of white loquat flower. Through his efforts, he finally obtained a production license and the Quality Safety (QS) Certificate approval. As a test marketing, he produced 400 kg white loquat flower tea and put them in market, which was soon sold out.
Chen's success encourages more followers. Chu Mengjun, a local liquor producer, is one of them. He began to try making loquat wine two years ago and got the QS certification this September. His loquat wine is expected to sell at the price of 200 yuan per bottle next June. His next goal is to brew wines with white loquat petals, which will further extend the white loquat processing industry.
