Expo boosts Yuncheng fruit industry's global presence

Ralph Anselm Guzman Dorsey, commercial counselor of the Dominican Republic to China, tastes an apple grown in Yuncheng at the expo. [Photo provided to goshanxi.com.cn] 

"Yuncheng apples are sweet, crispy, and delicious," said Ralph Anselm Guzman Dorsey, commercial counselor of the Dominican Republic to China, giving a big thumbs-up and sharing his experiences in Chinese at the ongoing 7th Shanxi (Yuncheng) International Fruit Trade Expo in Shanxi province. 

The eight-day expo, which is being held both online and offline, opened in Yuncheng city on Oct 23, with 870 participating exhibitors and 2,590 products on display. 

Located at 35 degrees north latitude, Yuncheng enjoys unique natural conditions and is an important production area for high-quality fruits in China. 

The city has held six sessions of the expo and attracted participants from 70 countries and regions, with over 1.2 million attendees and trade contracts totaling 38 billion yuan ($5.20 billion), making the expo one of the well-known exhibitions in Shanxi.

Carved watermelons are on display at the 7th Shanxi (Yuncheng) International Fruit Trade Expo. [Photo provided to goshanxi.com.cn] 

Leveraging the promotional and trade opportunities presented by the expo, Yuncheng's 73 varieties of characteristic fruits such as apples, pears, jujubes, grapes, and peaches have been exported to 76 countries and regions. Its annual export volume has surpassed 380,000 metric tons, accounting for 80 percent of the province's total. 

"Moldova and China have tremendous cooperation potential in the agricultural sector," said Moldova's Ambassador to China Dumitru Braghis at the opening ceremony of the expo. 

He added that the two countries can deepen their cooperation in comprehensive cold chain infrastructure construction, technology exchanges and training, as well as apple juice production, and implement tax and fee reduction policies to attract investment.

An international attendee learns about advanced agricultural machinery at the expo. [Photo provided to goshanxi.com.cn] 

This year's expo has set a special session for people to share their experiences in terms of international fruit trade, offering guidance and training for fruit export enterprises. 

Representatives from foreign chambers of commerce, agricultural trade merchants, and border port chambers of commerce from countries including Russia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Kazakhstan, have been invited to participate. 

"We hope that Yuncheng will leverage this expo as a starting point to play a driving role in the development of the Belt and Road Initiative," said Ma Peihua, vice-chairman of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).