Boshan district of Zibo city in East China's Shandong province has been promoting industrial alliances to enhance the development of specialty agricultural produces.
At a meeting to promote the high-quality development of specialty agriculture on Feb 15, the district announced the establishment of five industrial alliances for kiwi fruit, fresh peaches, Platycodon grandiflorum (also known as the Chinese bellflower), edible funi and medicinal plants to strengthen cooperation between these member units in planting and processing, research and development, demonstration and application.
The establishment of the industrial alliances will be conducive to standardized planting and market development, locals said.
"We will be committed to aggregating excellent edible fungus enterprises in the region, focusing on digital empowerment and internet-based platforms, building an industrial chain for edible fungus and making this industry bigger and stronger, " Wang Qinghua, chairman of the edible fungus industry alliance, said at the meeting.
This year, Boshan district will build 20 key projects tied to specialty agriculture based on a total investment of 2.8 billion yuan ($408,000).
In recent years, by relying more on its unique natural environment, Boshan district has vigorously developed its specialty agriculture focusing on kiwi fruit, Platycodon grandiflorum, edible fungi, and traditional Chinese medicine.
At present, the planting area of specialty crops in the district spans more than 100,000 mu (67,000 hectares), with planting area and output of kiwi fruit accounting for 80 percent of the total in the province.
Annual exports of Platycodon grandiflorum products now stand at 15,000 metric tons, accounting for 91 percent of the total export volume of this flower in China. The district also ranks as the largest processing and distribution center for the flower in the country.
