Blueberry fields forever: How a town reinvented itself

The remarkable transformation of Chentuan town in Rizhao, a coastal city in Shandong province, is a story worth telling.

Once known for its polluting stone mining and processing industry, the town is now a picturesque place with the largest blueberry production base in the province.

Vast areas of its surrounding hills are adorned with blueberry bushes, with a planting area of over 1,660 hectares that produced 8,000 metric tons of fresh blueberry last year, according to the township government, accounting for 30 percent of the total blueberry production in Shandong.

In fact, blueberry production and consumption have been on the rise in China in recent years.

The country surpassed the United States as the world's largest blueberry producer in 2021, with Guizhou, Liaoning, Shandong, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces being the main blueberry-producing regions, according to a report.

The blueberry market is expected to witness further growth in the years ahead, the 2023 State of the Global Blueberry Industry Report, released by the International Blueberry Organization, said.

Meanwhile, China is also the world's leading importer of blueberries, bringing in — mainly from Peru and Chile — 42,847 tons of the blue fruit last year, a year-on-year increase of 45 percent, the report showed.

China was not a traditional consumer of blueberries.

However, higher standards of living and growing awareness of the health benefits associated with a diverse range of fruits have made consumers increase their intake of blueberries.

About 80 percent of Chinese aged 18 to 35 consumed blueberry-related products, including fresh fruits and processed products, last year, according to iiMedia Research.

"Chinese consumers prefer larger blueberries with relatively higher brix levels (level of sugar, vitamins, minerals, proteins, etc) and longer shelf-life," said Yao Ming, deputy manager of Yuhai Agricultural Tourism Co Ltd of the Rizhao Agricultural Development Group.

"This preference has led to the cultivation of new blueberry varieties tailored to the domestic market," said Yao, who has been working in blueberry business for five years.

It is difficult to expand the blueberry planting area because of strict measures aimed at protecting arable land that is used to grow grain. This makes cultivation of new varieties that can produce a higher quantity of blueberries more important, he added.

To meet these demands, Chentuan has been strengthening its technological research and development capabilities to promote the high-quality development of blueberries from seedling cultivation to production.