Raising Chinese bayberries is an important source

Consumers at home and abroad are snatching up an early-season variety of bayberry - the popular sweet and sour red fruit grown in southwest China - which is helping farmers in poor regions increase their salaries.

Raising Chinese bayberries is an important source of income for residents in Shiping County in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

This year, farmers say the early-season variety is of a higher quality. They hit the market earlier than usual this year due to warmer weather, which has driven up prices, said one farmer.

"The climate is warm this year, (so) the harvest season began over a week earlier than last year. The Chinese bayberries I grew have been available for sale since March 8th. The price is a bit higher than last year. (As) they are of good quality, they are sold at 130 yuan (about 20 U.S. dollars) per kilogram. In previous years, they were priced at about 120 yuan (about 19 U.S. dollars) per kilogram," said Peng Jing, a Chinese bayberry farmer.

Fruit wholesalers, meanwhile, are taking note and coming to Shiping County to purchase the fruit rather than going elsewhere this year.

One wholesaler said Chinese bayberries grown in Shiping are very popular, not only because they are harvested nearly three months earlier than those in east China's Zhejiang Province - a major bayberry producer- but also because they taste better.

The wholesaler said she paid over 20 million yuan (about three million U.S. dollars) to buy 800 tons of Chinese bayberries in Shiping last year.

The berries can be enjoyed as a snack and are popular for both domestic and overseas consumers.

"Yunnan is basically the first location where Chinese bayberries are harvested across China. As (the fruits are) exposed to the sun for a longer time, their taste is better than those grown in other regions. (We mainly sold them) to Hangzhou City and Ningbo City in the south, Beijing in the north and the northeastern provinces. We (also) export (them) to Italy, Myanmar and many other places," said Chen Xiaohui, a Chinese bayberry wholesaler.

In recent years, Shiping County has tried to increase local residents' income by farming Chinese bayberries and other specialty crops as part of a larger poverty alleviation program.

Chinese bayberries have been planted in over 130,000 mu (about 8,666 hectares) of land in the county. A total of 115,600 tons of the fruit are expected to be harvested this year, generating a total output of 460 million yuan (71 million U.S. dollars).