Chongqing- With the sound of a long whistle, a large cargo ship with 26 tonnes of blood oranges slowly departed from Port of Shekou in Shenzhen to Thailand on 22 January.

One might not expect that ten days ago, these oranges were still on the fruit trees of the citrus orchard of Chongqing Zhaohong Agricultural Development Co. Ltd in, Rongchang District.

Blood oranges are grown in many parts of China in large volumes, but the main production areas are in Chongqing, Sichuan, and Guangxi. 

As for now, the blood oranges have been exported to Thailand, Indonesia, the Maldives, and other Southeast Asian countries, with a total export volume of more than 100 tonnes and a much higher selling price than the domestic market.

Four years exporting to Southeast Asia

"Including the oranges exported this year, we have exported blood oranges to Southeast Asia for four consecutive years," said Qin Zhaohong, the owner of Chongqing Zhaohong Agricultural Development Co. Ltd.

Born and bred in a small village, Qin probably never had his sights set on the export market until a chance in 2017.

"It was in May when customers from Macau and Taiwan learned online that we have oranges for sale and then visited our base," said Qin. "They showed their intention for purchasing large quantities at a price higher than the market price, but it turns out that I had to watch my opportunity slip away as I failed to provide the export qualification, certificates of origin, and other relevant materials."

"I've been growing blood oranges for ten years and have accumulated a lot of experience, so there is no questioning of the quality of my oranges," said Qin. "But I couldn't answer questions raised by the Chongqing Customs District because the answer may lie in our sloppiness in production management."

Since then, Qin began to ask around how to be qualified to export citrus.

Upgrading orchards

After returning to the orchard, Qin embarked on a comprehensive upgrade of it in accordance with the requirements of the fruit export demonstration base, such as improving the land of the orchard, transforming the steep slopes into flat land, and fertilizing the soil.

Millions of dollars have been invested in the installation of drip irrigation and pest control facilities for targeted management and eco-friendly planting.

Meanwhile, he hired experts from Southwest University to create a green planting technology team and take charge of citrus field production, management, and technical guidance. Qin has also trained a group of workers for fruit picking, cleaning, sorting, packaging, and keeping records.

Export to Singapore and Russia

After two years of hard work, in March 2019, the company's orchard finally passed more than 100 assessments by Chongqing Customs District and Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce, where their citrus is allowed to be exported.

In April of the same year, blood oranges of Chongqing Zhaohong Agricultural Development Co. Ltd were exported to Indonesia, marking the maiden voyage of blood oranges of Chongqing.

In March 2021, Zhaohong's orchards received the Global Good Agricultural Practices (GGAP) certification, gaining a "pass" for the global export of citrus.

At present, though the peak time for blood oranges has not come yet, the production line of Zhaohong Agriculture is already running in each production link, including washing, drying, grading, and packaging in an intense and orderly manner.

"Clients have already approached me from Singapore, Russia, and other places to discuss the export of blood oranges," said Qin.

Next, Qin plans to cooperate with other blood-orange planters in Zizhong County, Sichuan Province, to establish a high-quality blood-orange export base in Sichuan and Chongqing, further driving more than 1,000 fruit farmers in Sichuan and Chongqing towards shared prosperity.

(Cao Kezhi, as an intern, also contributed to this report.)