Guizhou province's chili pepper crop continues to grow

By the end of July, Southwest China's Guizhou province had planted 5.72 million mu (381,000 hectares) of chili pepper in the current year, with an output volume of 2.43 million metric tons and an output value of 9.07 billion yuan ($1.4 billion).

The chili pepper industry there is reportedly showing steady growth, helping with the region's overall rural revitalization and moving towards modern agriculture.

This year, Guizhou took advantage of its low-lying valleys and planted 400,000 mu of early spring chili pepper in the Qiannan, Qianxinan and Qiandongnan areas.

This year, Guizhou has planted 2.05 million mu of chili pepper farmland, exceeding the annual target. Meanwhile, it is promoting improved varieties and has registered various pepper brands.

It is negotiating with the Dalian commodity exchange in Northeast China to allow Guizhou pepper to be traded there in the future.

By the end of July, Guizhou had helped 19 enterprises apply for 146 million yuan in loans for their chili pepper business and had helped 25 pepper enterprises apply for 818 million yuan of agricultural funds.

Plans are for Guizhou to attract more investment in the field, promote its chili pepper brands and coordinate pepper production and sales – as well as to expand industry cluster projects, to boost the development of the local pepper industry.