Growing asparagus with global appeal

JINAN, April 21 (Xinhua) -- With the onset of the asparagus harvesting season, factories in Caoxian County, east China's Shandong Province, are operating at full capacity to sort and process the crunchy and sweet vegetable.

Once processed, the canned asparagus will be shipped to dining tables across the globe to be enjoyed as a delectable side dish to complement meals.

Benefiting from the exceptional cultivation conditions, asparagus in Caoxian County has been recognized as a geographical indication product.

According to Zhou Changsheng, manager of an asparagus-processing company in the county, asparagus is the leading export product for the company, with an annual export of approximately 11,000 tonnes of canned asparagus.

Among these, canned white asparagus is primarily exported to Europe, Southeast Asia, and other regions, with export volume accounting for 80 percent of the national total, Zhou said.

Apart from being made into canned food for instant consumption, the asparagus from the county has also been used to create various delicacies.

In a trial field of an asparagus plantation, various varieties of asparagus are breaking through the soil. They are given names with poetic charms, such as emerald, moonlight over the lotus pond, and snow white, featuring their distinctive flavors and appearances.

There's a wide variety of refined, processed products made from these varied asparagus species, such as tea, juice, and beer, said the person in charge of the R&D department of the plantation, adding that they design the products to cater to the demand of customers at home and abroad.

Zhou said his company's R&D spending could account for more than 3 percent of its total budget.

So far, Caoxian County has established an industrialization pattern guided by the market that integrates the base, farmers, production, processing, and sales into a one-stop service.

"We have been reassured by the free cultivation technique guidance and guaranteed purchase price provided by cooperatives," said Li Haiyang, a local farmer.

Li has cooperated with a local company to grow asparagus, and during the picking season, a farmer could earn about 2,600 yuan (around 377 U.S. dollars) a month.

Currently, the total planting area of asparagus in Caoxian County has reached 13,333 hectares, with an annual output of 180,000 tonnes of high-quality asparagus.

In addition, the county has 24 asparagus processing companies with an annual processing capacity of 190,000 tonnes, which generates an annual export revenue of 200 million U.S. dollars.