From 'orange capital' to 'vegetable capital'

[SHADOW LI / CHINA DAILY]

The National Vegetable Quality Standards Center set up a branch - the only one of its kind in the country - in Xinfeng county, adjoining Longnan - last year. The center has its headquarters in Shouguang, a county-level city in Shandong province and a major hub for vegetables and produce in China.

The branch, in Daxing village, Xinfeng county, is seen as giving new impetus to the vegetables industry, and is in recognition of the county's years-long efforts to upgrade the quality of its produce and standardizing them.

The center's aim is to standardize the quality of fruits and vegetables, especially those to be shipped to the Greater Bay Area, said Daxing village Party Secretary Lai Huapeng.

The standards set for Ganzhou's famed navel oranges, for instance, involve the color, sweetness and shape of the fruit, as well as the pesticide residues detected, he said, adding there are more than 1,000 standards indicators.

Lai said the branch is responsible for ensuring the quality of fruits and vegetables as the only such facility in southern China. Another of its tasks is to breed new vegetable varieties. The branch, which covers an area of 1.4 square kilometers, has 66,670 square meters of farmland for cultivating new vegetable strains, such as eggplants, chile peppers, pumpkins and cherry tomatoes.