Expo gives traders taste of local produce

The Seventh International Fruit, Vegetable and Food Exposition opened on Friday in Yantai, East China's Shandong Province, providing overseas fruit, vegetable and food dealers and global franchise stores greater access to Chinese products.

"The exposition provides a platform for economic exchanges in the agricultural sector in the Asia Pacific area," said Zhou Qi, mayor of Yantai, at the opening ceremony of the four-day event. During the exposition, the organizing committee will present 100 projects with a total investment of 2.8 billion yuan (US$345 million). The projects, covering pillar industries of Yantai, range from food processing and electronics to machine building industries.

Zhu Changchun, director and agronomist of Laiyang Chunlin Golden Pear Development Base, has been attending the exposition since the first event in 1999. His product, Daguoshuijing, a hybrid of a South Korean pear and the local Laiyang pear, is one of the most eye-catching products at the exposition.

"The product brought the farm a good income last year. I believe I can be even more successful this year," Zhu said at the expo on Friday.

The hybrid pear can grow to a weight of more than 2 kilograms and be sold for export at 4.6 yuan (57 US cents) per kilogram. On the domestic market, the pear is sold at 3.6 yuan (44 US cents) per kilogram.

Source: China Daily