KUNMING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Costa Group Holdings Limited, an Australian horticultural company, and the city of Baoshan in southwest China's Yunnan Province have agreed to jointly develop a blueberry planting project in the province.

With an investment of about 500 million yuan (around 71 million U.S. dollars), a total of 333 hectares of blueberries will be planted in Pupiao Township of Longyang District in Baoshan within three years.

The annual output value of the project is expected to reach 500 million yuan upon completion, and the project will help further promote the scale, branding and ecology of local agriculture, according to the Baoshan investment promotion bureau.

As a producer, processor, and distributor of fruits and vegetables, the Australian company has set up two branches in Yunnan to expand its business in the Chinese market.

The cooperation agreement was signed through a video conference due to the ongoing novel coronavirus epidemic.

Located in western Yunnan, Baoshan has been improving its business environment to attract foreign investors in recent years.