Kiwifruit industry thrives in Xiuwen county in SW China's Guizhou

By bringing technologies to the production of kiwifruits and expanding sales channels, Xiuwen county in southwest China's Guizhou province has turned the fruit into a cash cow for local people in recent years.

Photo shows a kiwifruit plantation in Xiuwen county, southwest China's Guizhou province. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

Boasting a total area of 167,000 mu (about 11,133 hectares) of kiwifruit fields, the county is home to 110 standard kiwifruit plantations, with over 90 percent of the kiwifruits produced using standardized planting techniques.

This could not be achieved without the local governments’ efforts in removing impediments to the industry’s development, such as the lack of proper technologies and sales channels. For example, the Guizhou center of the China-New Zealand Joint Laboratory for Kiwifruit Research and a research institute on kiwifruit were established in the county on June 4, 2021, providing strong scientific and technical support for growing the fruit.

Furthermore, the Guizhou provincial government has helped growers explore more sales channels in collaboration with China's e-commerce giant JD.com. Under the cooperation framework, the Xiuwen county government and JD.com started an online presale campaign for the fruit in early September. By attaching greater importance to the sustainable development of the kiwifruit industry in the county, JD.com aims to help the country upgrade the industry.

“We will participate in the whole process of the industry, including production, sales and brand promotion,” said an executive from JD.com.