A farmer checks out olive trees at an orchard in Longnan, Gansu province, in July. [Provided to China Daily]

Frequent use in preparing meals and as beauty supplement gains popularity

Domestic olive oil has seen robust sales in China since the COVID-19 pandemic, as young Chinese consumers have been increasingly paying attention to healthier lifestyles, and imports of the commodity have been hampered by extended transport times.

Olive oil is extracted from the fleshy part of the ripened fruit of the olive tree. People often associate the product with Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Greece, Spain and Turkey, which boast long histories of olive planting.

However, Longnan, Gansu province, has developed into the largest olive tree producing area in China. The International Olive Council regards the region as a primary production zone suitable for olive tree planting.

In the 1960s, the Albanian government gifted China with more than 10,000 olive saplings, which were then planted in many parts of the country on a trial basis. Longnan began to plant olive trees in the early 1970s. Olive oil is often called "liquid gold", and extra-virgin olive oil is widely used in foods, cosmetics and medicines.

Longnan Xiangyu Olive Development Co Ltd, a major olive oil retailer in Longnan, said that due to the pandemic, Chinese consumers have been paying more attention to healthy living and the trend has stimulated higher demand for olive oil in the market.

Xiangyu said last year, its production and sales of olive oil were not affected by the pandemic.

"Hampered by the contagion, the import of olive oil was partly hindered due to pandemic prevention measures and lengthened transport periods. This has in turn provided us some good sales opportunities. In the first half, our online sales of olive oil products surged 140 percent year-on-year," said Ma Tong, deputy general manager of Xiangyu.

The pandemic didn't stop the internationalization of olive oil made in China. In August last year, Longnan exported 1.2 metric tons of olive oil to South Korea.

In March, the Longnan local government reached an agreement with Uruguay and the two sides will conduct more cooperation in introducing olive varieties, technical training and talent exchanges.

Longnan boasts the largest planting area for olive trees in China, and the output of the fruit accounts for 90 percent of the nation's total.

Longnan is located in the southernmost part of Gansu and is far from industrial areas. Thus, the planting and extracting processes are wholly natural and organic, according to local industry players.

In addition, the climate and soil of Longnan are quite similar to the Mediterranean coast, being located at a latitude between 32.58 degrees and 33.36 degrees, which is comparable to latitudes in Spain and Italy. The production zone in Gansu is regarded as a golden region for olive tree planting, and it has introduced and successfully planted more than 100 premium varieties of olives.