On 23 June, Guangdong held its first Dragon Fruit Light Festival, with its highlight in Zengcheng Xiaolou Renjia Scenic Area. This event was not organized by the government, but by a local Guangdong farmer, Chen Lianghua, who successfully tried a new technology at his dragon fruit production site, that imitates sunlight at night.
"Before June, the majority of dragon fruits on the market came from Vietnam. The quality of these white and red fruits was rather bad, and they could not satisfy the demand for high quality products," Chen Lianghua tells a reporter. Vietnam is one of the largest producers and transporters of dragon fruits. It has a production area of more than 50,000 hectares (500,000 mu), and a production volume of approximately 600,000 tons. It exports over 70% of its fruits, and China is its biggest export market, taking 80% of the export volume. He explains that Vietnam has a special climate, which means that their dragon fruits enter the market earlier than those from Guangdong. However, its products are not top quality.
Through analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of Vietnamese dragon fruits, Chen Lianghua, who grows custard apples in Heshan, Guangdong, took over a dragon fruit production site in Zengcheng Xiaolou. Its previous owner was from Taiwan, and he had the best dragon fruit brand in Taiwan. However, because of the climate, his products entered the market somewhat later than dragon fruits from Vietnam and Hainan.
Source: Guangdong Tourism