Jixian apples are cheap and slow-selling, so why not take a look at the business approach of "golden vegetables"

The picture shows golden chicory grown in the production workshop.

In recent days, while interviewing and investigating the problem of unsold apples in Jixian, the reporter found that, in sharp contrast, a high-end vegetable introduced and planted by local farmers - golden chicory - is expensive and sells very well. One plant weighing 3 liang can sell for about 10 yuan, and it is supplied exclusively to five-star hotels and restaurants serving foreigners. Farmers affectionately call it "golden vegetable."

The reporter recently came to the vegetable production base in Huawu Village, Shangcang Town, Jixian. Five vegetable production workshops stand side by side. In the production workshop, seedbeds are stacked layer upon layer, and golden vegetables grow densely arranged on the seedbeds. At first glance, they look like the premium cabbage hearts displayed in supermarkets. "This is not a cabbage heart. It is called golden chicory, scientific name witloof chicory. One plant weighs about 3 liang, and 12 plants are packed into one box, which can sell for 130 yuan!" a worker said.

Technician Zhang Xiaojie introduced that golden chicory is rich in amino acids and trace elements. It is a high-end health vegetable with a tender taste. It can be stir-fried, boiled in soup, or eaten raw like fruit. It has long been a high-end vegetable that sells well in European and American markets. However, growing golden chicory is relatively complicated, and its requirements for growing conditions are relatively strict. It requires fine management such as temperature control, light control, and ventilation. Last year, the base successfully introduced and planted it from the Netherlands. At present, the annual output is about 300 tons, and all of it is sold through orders.

"Now golden chicory has 5 production workshops, and about 5,000 kg can be harvested per crop. All of it is supplied by order to five-star hotels and restaurants serving foreigners in the Beijing-Tianjin area, and demand exceeds supply." Liu Dan, manager of the vegetable base, said that next they will provide seeds and technology to local farmers free of charge, and drive local people to prosperity by establishing cooperatives.

"Growing golden chicory is high-tech, uses soilless cultivation, no fertilizer, and no pesticide. It focuses on the high-end dish market, has precise market positioning, and has a stable customer group, which has become the main reason it is not worried about selling even at a high price. These experiences have good reference value for the cultivation, production, and marketing of apples and other agricultural products in the mountainous areas of Jixian." said Liu Xiumei, secretary-general of the Jixian Agricultural Products Alliance.