The fragrance of Langshan navel oranges wafts far and wide, and Xinning, Hubei sings the song of prosperity
Langshan navel oranges are fragrant, and fruit farmers are busy picking.
“The pure white orange blossoms keep the bees busy, the crystal-clear orange flesh gives off fragrance, an ocean of navel oranges, the bank of the young man, Langshan scenery surpasses paradise……” The nationally renowned young singer Liu Yuanyuan's song "Langshan Navel Oranges Are Fragrant," carrying a rich orange fragrance, flies to the north and south of the country.
Each orange blossom is a string of beautiful notes, and each mountain of orange groves is a symphony of green hope! Those navel oranges covering the mountains and plains, oh, have a different scene in every season: in March the orange blossoms bloom, pure white as snow, with fragrance filling the air; in August the orange leaves are green, so verdant they seem to drip, with jade-green leaves stretching to the sky; in November the oranges ripen, with red fruit covering the branches and orange fragrance overflowing.
Xinning is one of the country's 4 major navel orange export production base counties. It has a navel orange area of 300,000 mu, an annual output of nearly 250,000 tons, and an annual output value exceeding 500 million yuan. In recent years, the county has integrated more than 50 million yuan in funds each year for support, promoting the navel orange industry's upgrade toward high yield, high quality, and ecology, running out an “acceleration” and achieving “full-house red.” Local farmers have also achieved an annual income of more than 50,000 yuan through growing navel oranges, and the higher earners can reach several hundred thousand yuan.
“Orange mist” fills the air:
A bumper navel orange harvest once left sales channels in difficulty
In 2015, Xinning's navel orange output hit a record high, with 300,000 mu of navel orange groves producing 254,500 tons, nearly double the previous year. According to convention, after the New Year is the best sales season for Xinning navel oranges; after being stored for more than two months, the taste and flavor of the navel oranges reach their peak. Because some fellow townspeople returning home for the New Year did not understand the sales characteristics of Xinning navel oranges, they mistakenly thought the navel oranges were unsalable, and posted one WeChat message after another online expressing concern about hometown navel orange sales. Some navel orange sellers took the opportunity to play the sympathy card to promote sales, which for a time caused navel orange sales channels to suffer a “traffic jam.”
Navel oranges are divided into early-maturing and late-maturing; the best picking period for early-maturing ones is November 25, and the picking period for late-maturing ones can be postponed to mid-December, but last year the south encountered a rainy year, and Xinning was no exception. Raindrops fell on the navel orange trees, yet pierced the hearts of all the fruit farmers like needles: the navel oranges had reached picking season, but continuous rain made picking difficult, and the buyers coming to Xinning to purchase goods were also very few. Seeing this situation, some sellers posted information online such as “My family has 50,000 tons of navel oranges unsalable, please everyone help” to sell navel oranges. Not only did this fail to achieve the expected effect, it instead affected the price and sales channels of navel oranges.
With united will, “orange after orange”:
Create a “green channel” for navel orange sales
Prices were sluggish and sales channels were poor, and the fruit farmers were deeply worried. To avoid cheap fruit hurting farmers after a bumper harvest, the Xinning County Party Committee and County Government hurried to address what the people urgently needed and quickly rolled out a “combination punch,” adopting a series of regulatory measures to open a “green channel” for navel orange sales, successfully helping enterprises and fruit farmers open up the market and emerge from difficulty.
To promote the Xinning navel orange brand, when the navel orange park opened, through methods such as holding the Langshan Navel Orange Festival, producing the song "Langshan Navel Oranges Are Fragrant," and inviting relevant experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and merchants and tourists from various places to experience picking, the influence of the Xinning navel orange brand was effectively expanded.
Multiple measures were taken simultaneously to solve the difficulty of navel orange sales. During the navel orange market period, the county held several special meetings on navel orange sales, trying every possible way to open up the market; invited more than 100 major sellers and out-of-town merchants to hold discussions and offer ideas for navel orange sales; actively built platforms to “matchmake” for enterprises and merchants; issued a series of promotional reward and support policies, requiring functional departments such as agriculture, finance, and banking to open a “green channel” for navel orange sales; and broadly mobilized cadres and staff to join the navel orange marketing team and vigorously carry out online marketing.
Where the “golden orange” goes:
60,000 tons sold in 15 days, sales run out an “acceleration”
In order to expand navel orange sales channels, on March 12, Yang Wenguo, member of the Standing Committee of the Xinning County Party Committee and deputy county magistrate, used the weekend to lead cadres from the county agriculture bureau and relevant sales personnel, traveling a thousand li to the Southwest ASEAN Fruit Market in Nanning, visiting Langshan navel orange distributors one by one, having heart-to-heart talks with them, helping them build confidence and solve difficulties, while also contacting the market's management department to strengthen production and sales cooperation.
At the start of the New Year, good news of hot navel orange sales came from everywhere in Xinning County. Before the festival, “Newhall” sold out, and after the festival navel oranges moved briskly. In early March, a large group of merchants from home and abroad gathered in Xinning, batches of orders flew in like snowflakes, and trucks streamed endlessly…… All 20 navel orange processing factories in the county ran at full power, processing day and night, shipping more than 5 million jin per day. Within 15 days after the Spring Festival long holiday, the county shipped a total of 60,000 tons of navel oranges, setting the best sales record in history.
By the end of April, the county's navel oranges had basically sold out, more than 20 days earlier than the fastest sales pace even in the highest-output year in history, and the price also rose to more than two yuan per jin. Navel orange sales ran out the fastest “acceleration” in history.
With “orange” bamboo in the chest:
Navel oranges will become the fruit farmers' “money tree”
Xinning navel oranges are orange-red in color, with delicate fruit surface, rich and sweet flavor, tender juice sacs, resistance to storage and transport, and a long shelf life, and are deeply loved by consumers. Langshan's creation of a 5A scenic area is about to succeed, and the prospects for Xinning County's navel orange industry are even broader. It will certainly become the “pillar” of Xinning's industry and the fruit farmers' “money tree.”
Breeding fine varieties, building demonstration bases, and constructing storage warehouses, Xinning County is speeding up. It has now built 1 navel orange mother tree garden, 3 fine variety seedling breeding nurseries, and developed more than 20 new superior varieties; built more than 30 high-standard navel orange demonstration bases, with a navel orange planting area of 300,000 mu, ranking first in the province in scale; and built more than 860 navel orange storage warehouses, with a total storage capacity of more than 200,000 tons.
At the same time, it adopted business models such as “enterprise + cooperative + base + farmer” to encourage the broad masses of farmers to “huddle together for warmth.” At present, Xinning County has developed about 5,000 grower households with annual navel orange sales income of more than 10,000 yuan per person, and about 1,000 grower households with more than 30,000 yuan per person. It has established 27 navel orange professional cooperatives, and as many as 350,000 people benefit from the navel orange industry.
To ensure the excellent quality of navel oranges, the county established a “field archive management system” for agricultural inputs, while also increasing efforts to crack down on the illegal use of additives. This year, through projects such as comprehensive agricultural development, funds will be bundled for investment in building high-standard orchards, and technologies such as soil testing and formula fertilization, specialized integrated pest control, and the “pig + biogas + fruit” ecological planting and breeding model will be promoted to further improve the yield and quality of navel oranges.
“The song comes from the grove, the young woman is diligent and good, she picked navel oranges and built a Western-style house, cheerful and happy……” On the early morning of May 21, sunlight fell on the mountains of Chenshui Village, Huanglong Town, Xinning County, and the orange groves covering the mountains and plains were full of vitality. The village's fruit farmer Xiao Zhenqing, while hoeing weeds and fertilizing in his own orchard, happily hummed a mountain song, and the song of happiness echoed in the mountain village for a long time……