White Jade loquats fetch good market prices, helping fruit farmers increase their incomes and get rich quickly
"Ordinary loquats only sell for 5 yuan wholesale, but my White (Jade) loquats sell for at least 9 yuan wholesale." On May 10, beside the small shop of Yang Zhengzhong's family at the entrance of Laoxian Village, Mahao Town, Shibing County, he and his family were busy packing loquats into boxes. "A boss from Kaili said two days ago that he'll come to pick up the goods the day after tomorrow, and he'll buy as much as I have. I can't even pick them fast enough." In recent years, more and more people have learned about Yang Zhengzhong's loquats, and more and more bosses come to his home personally to buy them. He has no worries about finding a market at all.
In the loquat orchard, clusters of loquats hang all over the branches. "Look, this kind with a whiter color is the white loquat. Although they all look yellow from a distance, up close you can tell at a glance which of the 'two brothers' is 'Little White' and which is 'Little Yellow.'" With that, Yang Zhengzhong peeled one and invited the reporter to taste it. The loquat flesh was milky white, similar in color to lychee, with a delicate texture, fragrant and juicy in the mouth, sweet as honey.
In 2000, Yang Zhengzhong went out to work, doing orchard management in Shenzhen, where he accumulated some experience. A few years later, he decided to return home to start a business. Since loquats are easy to manage, and he had also learned the grafting technique for white loquats, he has been growing them for ten years now.
Loquats are rich in various nutrients the human body needs, such as protein, fat, carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus, and iron, and have the effects of protecting eyesight, keeping skin healthy and moist, and promoting children's physical development. Fu Maobin, Party Secretary of Mahao Town, introduced: "Yang Zhengzhong currently grows more than 30 mu of loquats, of which more than 80% are White Jade loquats, selling over 10,000 jin each year. Soon the government will also coordinate land to help him expand his planting scale, adding more than 60 mu at the village entrance." The town will make full use of the local unique soil and climate to develop large-scale planting of White Jade loquats, bring White Jade loquats into the premium fruit markets of big cities, and make them gradually become one of the industrial directions of Mahao Town. "These two days have kept us terribly busy. We have to pick several loads every day. Some bosses call directly and say they want all the ripe ones." Yang Zhengzhong's younger brother Yang Zhengxing helps his brother take care of the loquat orchard. Although tired, at the thought that the fruit will soon be sold at a good price, his heart is sweeter than can be described. "These white loquats are sweeter than ordinary loquats, taste better, and are large, fleshy, and good-looking. Many owners of premium fruit shops are rushing to place orders." Yang Zhengzhong's loquats grow well and sell well. Loquats alone bring him nearly 100,000 yuan in income each year, prompting villagers from miles around to come and learn from him, wanting to plant this "rare" white loquat too.
Yang Zhengzhong is also generous. He not only patiently explains the key points of growing white loquats to the villagers who seek his advice, but also gives away the white loquat saplings he cultivated himself for free to the villagers who come to "learn from him." But loquats are delicious and the trees are hard to grow. Due to inadequate management techniques, across the whole county he is still the only one growing white loquats on a large scale. "Yang Zhengzhong's white loquats have beautiful fruit shape, good taste, and high yield, proving that the local climate and soil are very suitable for the growth of white loquats." Li Junguan, director of the Poverty Alleviation Work Station of Mahao Town, explained that the white loquat, also known as the White Jade loquat, originated in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang area. Its fruit is sweet, with thin skin and lots of juice. Looking nationwide, it is quite difficult to introduce and cultivate, and its total output is not high. Therefore, the rarer something is, the more valuable it becomes. In big cities, white loquats can sell at retail for 50 yuan to 70 yuan per jin, making them a mid-to-high-end premium fruit favored by urban white-collar workers. In the prefecture's market, because their fame is not high, white loquats retail for only about 20 yuan. It is understood that the biggest difficulty for local farmers in growing white loquats is the lack of technology and sound management. Therefore, the Mahao Town government is surveying farmers willing to develop white loquat planting, centering on Laoxian Village, and mobilizing villagers with suitable water and soil conditions to transfer land, preparing to expand white loquat planting.
As a member of the village committee, Yang Zhengzhong is happy that the village and town are preparing to develop large-scale white loquat planting, and is willing to help everyone develop the white loquat industry together through technical support. "Once the planting area goes up, the output can go up, and then our loquats can be sold to markets outside the region, and the price can double!"