China: Qingpu strawberries go on sale

"Next week, the strawberries will be harvested and brought to the market from the Baipeng village in Qingpu, also known as 'the village of Chinese strawberries'. We are located in the strawberry demonstration cultivation orchard, where we will welcome the first harvested batch," says Mr. Tang from Shumei Agricultural Investment in Shanghai.

"At present, the Baipeng village has more than 2900 farmers who engage in strawberry cultivation. The cultivation surface is fixed at 433 hectares, of which 246 hectares is reserved for strawberry breeding. The yearly production volume is around 9100 tons, spread over 15 villages. Like many leading enterprises in the strawberry production, Baipeng strawberry orchard has modelled quite a few well-known strawberry brands, some of which are Zhaodunqiao, Jinping and Qiangsheng. In the supermarkets and fruit markets of the Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shanghai area, our strawberries sell very well."

"Shumei Agricultural has been professionally engaged in the breeding of fruits and vegetables for many years. In many places in China, such as Beijing, Jiangsu, Kunming, Shaanxi and others, industrialised cultivation bases were established. We rely on the technical guidance of the Shanghai Agricultural Technology Institute and the Shanghai Agricultural Technology Promotion Centre. With their help, we have introduced 10 new superior strawberry varieties for experimental cultivation in the Qingpu Baipeng orchard. The base covers 13 hectares and has 3 hectares of surface for finished products. Currently, the strawberries are already ripe, so next week they can be harvested and sold. Moreover, the Qingpu district also has a standardised strawberry demonstration zone on the national level and 7 normal standardised strawberry production bases. The surface reserved for demonstration production is 133 hectares. 

Thanks to the local technical demonstrations and the forward drive of the standardised cultivation bases and the local strawberry cooperatives, the level of the strawberry cultivation techniques of local farmers rises very fast. The original yield of 22.5 tons of strawberries per hectare has already been increased to 27 tons per hectare. Financially, this means an increase from 3.6 million RMB per hectare to 5.4 million RMB."

"Judging from the current growth of the strawberry crops, we estimate that the production volume of Baipeng strawberries this year will be the same as last year. The taste and outer appearance aren't bad either. But because the climate conditions weren't optimal this year, it is possible that the individual strawberries will be a bit smaller than last year. So we predict that the selling price might slightly go down."



"Starting from next week, our strawberries go on sale. The supply period will last until mid-May next year. At the end of the season, in March and April, some special events will be held at Baipeng village in honour of the strawberries. The most famous among these events is the Baipeng strawberry feast, which is already nearing its eighth edition. Everyone is more than welcome to join us when the time comes."

For more information about Baipeng strawberries

Mr. Tang
Shanghai Meishu Agricultural Investments Co., Ltd.
Yan Weizhong
Shanghai Agricultural Technology Promotion Service Centre
Telephone: +86 136 2193 2346
Email: tangjming_1@163.com
Address of the Baipeng Strawberry Demonstrative Orchard: Shengli road 188, Baipeng Village, Qingpu District, Shanghai City, China