After gaining traction at home, blueberries from Rizhao City in east China's Shandong Province have entered the markets of Russia's Novosibirsk region via overland cold-chain transport channels.
In the large-scale planting bases of Chentuan Town in Rizhao, Rizhao Agricultural Development Group operates nearly 46.67 hectares of blueberry fields, producing more than 400 tonnes of blueberries annually.
Photo shows some boxes of blueberries ready for shipment to overseas markets in Rizhao City, east China's Shandong Province. (Source: Publicity Department of CPC Rizhao Municipal Committee)
These blueberries, known for their pleasant taste and suitability for long-term storage under strict management of planting, picking, processing and storage, helped the company win the first couple of certified qualifications for export-oriented blueberry plantation and packaging in Rizhao.
Since late April, the company has exported local blueberries to Russia's Novosibirsk in several batches, opening a new path for local blueberry exports to the Russian market.
Such initial shipments also enabled the Rizhao-based company to establish a stable supply chain for blueberry export and optimize related transport and storage procedures for smooth customs clearance.
Currently, regular supply of blueberries for overseas sales has been realized in the city where Russian merchants visited local blueberry packaging workshops for potential purchases.
Photo shows a Russian trader visiting a blueberry packaging workshop in Rizhao City, east China's Shandong Province. (Source: Publicity Department of CPC Rizhao Municipal Committee)
Quality has always been at the core of Rizhao Agricultural Development Group's blueberry production, said Qin Gang, an employee of the company.
From planting to post-picking quality control, every step is done in strict accordance with relevant quality requirements, and a full-process traceability system is also put in place to ensure the premium quality of every blueberry, stressed Qin.
For its exporter partners, the company's self-owned large-scale blueberry production bases and cold-chain processing center assure them of the stable quality of blueberries and reliable supplies.
Key parts of its standardized full-chain management regime such as systems for pest monitoring, packaging workshop management, and product traceability reveal potential advantages in scaling up supply to explore more markets.
In Rizhao, local business-driven blueberry planting, seedling cultivation, picking, processing, product R&D and study tours are now in full swing, extending its blueberry industrial chains and boosting the local economy.
(Edited by Duan Jing with Xinhua Silk Road, duanjing@xinhua.org)
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