China News Service, Fuzhou, November 24th (Jiang Zude) In early winter, it is the time when the olives in Fujian Minqing are at their most mature.
The 60,000 mu of olives in Minqing have had a bumper harvest this year, with numerous green fruits hanging on the branches, bursts of fragrance permeating the hills, and farmers busy picking olives with smiles on their faces.
The picking season is the most exciting day for fruit farmers, and a year of hard work has earned a heavy income.
The big olive growers Zhang Kongjiang and his wife have been living and eating in the mountains recently, taking good care of the fruits on the trees.
Zhang Kongjiang said that half of his olives have been booked by customers in Guangdong. Visitors from the mountain will order from time to time to see the fruit. The picking price of "Meixiang No. 2" has risen to 21 yuan per kilogram, and that of "Lingfeng" has risen to 28 yuan per kilogram.
“The price of olives has been roughly the same in the past few years, and the higher the price will be in the future. This year, Zhangkongjiang’s 110-mu orchard can produce 30,000 kilograms of olives, with a gross income of 1.1 million yuan.”
The grower Zhang Kongjiang picks olives from the tree.
Photo by Jiang Zude
The cultivation of olives in Minqing County, Fujian Province began in the Tang Dynasty. In the late 1980s, the whole county began large-scale cultivation of olives such as Huiyuan, Changying, and Sandalwood.
At present, 70% of olive trees in Minqing County have been improved, and fresh olives have become the main brand.
Olives are rich in nutrition. The pulp contains protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, iron and other minerals. The content of vitamin C is 10 times that of apples and 5 times that of pears and peaches.
In winter and spring, chewing two or three fresh olives every day can prevent upper respiratory tract infection. The folks have the reputation of "winter and spring olive race ginseng".
The picking price of "Sanling" olives this year reached 600 yuan per kilogram.
Photo by Jiang Zude
Meixi Town is the main olive producing area in Minqing County. The Minjiang River flows through 8 villages in the town. The mild climate of the river basin nourishes the mountains and forests along the coast, creating a good quality of olives.
Ye Sheng, deputy secretary of the Party Committee of Meixi Town, Minqing County, said that one of the keys to the longevity of Minqing olives lies in the continuous improvement of varieties.
The fruit growers are good at observing and discovering which plant is of good quality will use the branches of this olive tree as the female parent and graft it to the olive tree that needs improvement in the coming year.
In the past 15 years, through "high-position grafting", "middle-branch grafting" and "pier-position grafting", all 35,000 mu olives in Meixi Town have been improved, and "little men", "Meixiang No. 2", "Lingfeng" and "Sanling" have been cultivated. "And many new varieties, crisp, fragrant, good sweetness, and high slagging rate have become distinctive features, and Minqing fresh olives have gained fame and are favored by consumers.
In 2019, Meixi Town was awarded the "National One Village One Product Demonstration Village". The town's olive output this year is expected to reach 17,500 tons, and the output value exceeds 600 million yuan.
Fujian Baihejiang Industrial Development Co., Ltd. is committed to the brand promotion of Minqing olives. The registered "Baihejiang" olive trademark is used by more than half of the farmers.
According to Chen Rui, the person in charge of the company, in the past few years, the company has spared no effort to increase publicity, strengthen cooperation with e-commerce platforms such as Pinduoduo, JD.com, Taobao, etc., and attract consumers with promotional methods such as "Buy one or two olives for one dollar". Many people fall in love with Minqing olives.
This year, Chen Rui's online and offline sales have exceeded 3 million yuan.
Fuzhou Weijiali Food Co., Ltd. is located in Minqing to process and produce olive preserves, with an annual output value of 5 million yuan.
Photo by Jiang Zude
Deng Yongdi, a 77-year-old retired cadre, created a smoldering furnace last year to resist the cold wave to ensure that the olive tree can survive the winter safely. The "little man" variety newly grafted two years ago has begun production this year. This year, his olive net income is 120,000 yuan.
Xie Yijing, the former village director of Meipu Village, has calculated that the annual labor cost of olive grafting, management, and picking in Meipu Village exceeds 80 million yuan. The whole village and the surrounding people obtain considerable income from the olive industry.
The live broadcast brought the goods into the olive grove...
Photo by Jiang Zude
Beginning in 2017, Minqing County has held promotional activities for the Olive Festival with distinctive themes for four consecutive years. It has continuously strengthened the docking of production, learning, and research with scientific research institutes such as Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University. A new pattern of increasing income and wealth in the “big industry”.
In 2021, the output value of the olive industry chain in Minqing County will exceed 1.1 billion yuan.
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