Sweet Melons and Fruits

3 min read

There is a ballad full of sweetness sung in Xinjiang, “Turpan grapes and Hami melons,pomegranates in Karghalik are praised, the finest are the Korla pears, Artux figs have a good reputation, Xiayedi watermelons are sweet, Kashgar cherries like pearls, Jiashji muskmelons will sweet to your heart, Hetian walnuts need no knocking, and Kuche white apricots are delicious, melons and fruits all year round, and you will not feel homesick.

How sweet the melons and fruits are to let you forget being homesick To those who taste the melons and fruits, sweet in the mouth; to those who harvest,sweet in the heart. Various fruit trees have become the”cash cow” for farmers and herdsmen of all nationalities in Xinjiang.

Ruoqiang is the largest county in China, correspondin to two Zhejiang, or three Ireland or ten Kuwait.

However, as is located in the hinterland of the Takla Makan Desert, the strong wind, floating dust, blowing sand and other natural disasters would cause severe drought, so apricots, peaches, cotton and other traditional cash crops in Ruoqiang always suffered from the reduction of output, or even total crop failure. Agricultural development was facing unprecedented difficulties, and farmers were suffering too, the title of “national-level poverty-stricken county” had been on Ruoqiang for many years. In October 2001, Ruoqiang County established the development strategy of jujube industry based on its distinct unique resource superiorities of light, heat, water and soil Hami melon field The red jujubes have been awarded many titles, such as “First Prize of China High Quality Red Jujubes”, “China (International) First Jujube Industry Expo Gold Award of Gray Jujube and Jun Jujube”, and also brought a lot of honor to Ruoqiang County, such as “China jujube industry leading county”,”tp10 Counties Nationwide of Pollution-free- Fruits and Vegetables”. The county successively declared protection of the geographical indication product, and made an “identity card” for red jujubes-the long-term sales files of production process and the names of farmers. Henceforth, consumers can know the “birthday”, “birth place”, “parents’names” and other information of each Ruoqiang red jujube through the traceability system.

Pomegranate

The demand for such good jujubes is high compared to its production. The price of red jujubes in Ruoqiang is about 50 Yuan per kilogram; but when processed according by grade, the travelling merchants can sell them at the price of at least 150 Yuan per kilogram. The price of special grade jujubes can even reach 400 Yuan per kilogram The profit is so huge that merchants throughout the country are rushing to Ruoqiang to purchase jujubes. In 2012, more than 3,000 merchants came, but only 2,000 traded, while the rest went back empty-handed Xinjiang local specialties-jujube, also called “gold longevity jujube”, can invigorate vital energy and nourish blood In 2012, Zhu Qianjin, the jujube farmer of Kuergui village, Wutamu town, Ruoqiang County, just picked his 16 mu of jujubes, which was soon purchased by a merchant at a total of 450,000 Yuan. Li Hong, a selfemployec entrepreneur doing dried fruits business in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, has been keeping purchasing jujubes in Ruoqiang County since 2010. He said, “In the past, I purchased in Aksu and Kashgar, but when I tasted the Ruoqiang jujubes, I decided to purchase them just in Ruoqiang. In 2012 he purchased more than 100 tons of jujubes, and finally earned more than 6 million Yuan by packaging and selling.

Noticing such the big profit difference between production and processing, Ruoqiang County began to explore a convergence production-supply-marketing mechanism of “leading enterprises+specialized cooperatives+ bases+ farmers”. Now the processing capacity has reached 40,000 tons per year. The largest red jujube trading market was built ir Ruoqiang.

Along with the good economic benefit the ecological benefit is also huge. More than 90% of the arable land has planted jujube trees in Ruoqiang County, which has improved the surrounding ecological environment with the swaying of jujube trees and the pervasion of jujube flower fragrance, the situation of huge wind and floating dust, and sandstorms has been significantly reduced.