Chengmai’s Fruit Worth the High Prices

When shopping in supermarkets in Beijing， customers can find many high-priced fruits produced in Chengmai， a county in southern China’s Hainan Province. There are seedless honey pommels sold at 288 yuan （US$42） for one pair， seedless lychee 1，000 yuan/kilogram （US$146/kilogram） and selenium-enriched sweet potato for 50 yuan/kilogram （US$7.30/kilogram）， while the average market prices of such products hover around 60 yuan （US$8.70）， 20 yuan （US$3.90） and 5 yuan （US$0.70） respectively.

So why are these products from a small county so expensive？ According to Yang Sitao， secretary of the CPC Chengmai County Committee， standardization， industrialization， internationalization and successful branding are factors that have made Chengmai a fortune in the field of high-end agricultural products.

Standardized Agricultural Production

Located in China's southernmost province， Chengmai boasts a mild climate， abundant sunshine and fertile land. In recent years， the county has made great effort to encourage agricultural innovation， and achieved much in the process.

“Why are our pomelos so expensive？ Once you taste them， you will never be able to forget them，” said An Shuoyu， general manager of the Chengmai Hong’an Agricultural Development Company.

An is confident in his pomelos’ quality for two reasons. First， they have a high water content （up to 80 percent， compared to the fruit's 50 percent average）. Second， a perfect acid-sugar ratio results in a superb taste.

After graduating from Hainan University with a degree in pomology in October 2009， An and his wife built a seedless honey pomelo plantation of about eight acres in Chengmai. As soon as the first produce was harvested the next July， the couple decided to try their luck at the Nanbei Fruit Wholesale Market， one of the largest fruit markets in the province. At first， there was little interest in their products. The skin of their pomelos was green rather than the common yellow， so potential customers thought they were not ripe enough. But a week later the situation changed. Those who had purchased their pomelos rushed back to buy more， attracting new customers in the process.

In 2013， seedless honey pomelo was listed as a key product in promoting innovative industries by the government of Chengmai County. Since then， many local farmers have set up cooperatives to grow the fruit， adopting the same technical and management standards as those of Hong’an Company.

Despite its small size， Chengmai is home to nine agricultural research institutions. It has also signed cooperation agreements with institutions like the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. With such strong support in scientific research， Chengmai has achieved much in the standardization of agricultural development and in the process has become a provincial pioneer in establishing related standard systems.

So far， the county has formulated production standards at both the national and regional level for 35 agricultural products， accounting for more than half of Hainan’s 53 total items of agricultural produce.

Successful Branding

In May 2009， a young farmer named Wang Wenke from Qiaotou Town established the Chengmai Qiaotou Sweet Potato Cooperative， involving 682 people from 20 villages. They registered the “Qiaoshan” trademark for their product marketing and carried out standardized production practices.

Today， Qiaosha sweet potato is accessible not only in a number of supermarkets within Hainan， but also in other provinces and municipalities like Guangdong， Zhejiang and Shanghai. The potatoes are carefully selected and packaged， and sold at 38 yuan/kilogram （US$5.50/kilogram） in large supermarkets in Shenzhen， Guangdong Province.

In April 2009， Chengmai County signed an agreement with the Hainan Administration for Industry and Commerce in an effort to encourage local farmers to brand their products. According to the county’s policies， farmers can receive a subsidy of 5，000 yuan （US$727） for registering an ordinary trademark， and 10，000 yuan （US$1，455） for a collective trademark or a certification trademark.

For brands identified as “Hainan Famous Trademark” and “Chinese Well-known Trademark”， holders are eligible for rewards of 20，000 yuan （US$2，910） and 100，000 yuan （US$14，548） respectively.

According to official statistics， the government of Chengmai has awarded nearly 100 million yuan （US$14.5 million） of financial support to local agricultural enterprises （including small businesses） to help with trademark registration and promotion. So far， a total of 945 brands have been registered， including two international trademarks.

Chengmai now leads the province in the number of famous brands of agricultural products as well as economic benefits.

Safeguarding Ecological Security

“Our produce is free from pollutants，” An Shuoyu added. “We use weeding machines instead of herbicides， and we use homemade organic fertilizer instead of buying from shops.”

In order to safeguard ecological security， Chengmai has strengthened its environmental regulations. The county has built 105 stores selling safe pesticides， banning the use of illegal chemicals and low-quality pesticides.

Chengmai has also launched a pilot project to recycle agricultural waste such as agricultural film， pesticides and fertilizer packaging.

In addition to recycling projects， the county is actively promoting the use of degradable agricultural film. Now， one-fifth of its farmland is covered with environmental friendly materials， and such coverage is growing at an annual rate of 3 to 5 percent.

Ensuring Food Safety

In 2007， Yang Sitao received an inspection team from the Russian national food administration. Instead of testing products， the team took samples from the air， water and soil to check the local environment.

“Since that time， they've come back twice， but never asked to meet me again，” Yang said. “That means we have passed every test.”

In 2011， exports of Chengmai agricultural products reached a peak of 247，000 tons， marketing in 25 countries and regions. In each year since 2011， that figure has totaled at least 200，000 tons.

\"Since I assumed this position， the county has never received any rejected goods，\" Yang said.

To ensure product safety， the Hainan Xiangtai Fishery conducts a wide range of tests in accordance with related standards of the United States and the European Union. In the field of microorganism alone， there are as many as 20 unique tests.

Chengmai has established an agricultural product tracing system to safeguard food safety， and 88 percent of its produce is source traceable and can be tracked and recalled. Meanwhile， 100 percent of its agricultural products have passed quarantine inspections.