Dutch expat discovers juicy story of sugar orange in South China's Guilin

The Star

Sugar oranges can be found in nearly every household in China during the winter, particularly around the Spring Festival.   Join Dutch expat Andre as he visits a sugar orange farm in Guangxi to experience firsthand the sweet impact these oranges have made.  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00 I'm André from the Netherlands. Here we are in Guelin's Yongfu County.

00:08 Yongfu County is particularly hectic this time of the year,

00:12 because it's the middle of the harvest season of one of its star agricultural products,

00:18 the sugar orange.

00:20 With a perfect combination of climate and soil conditions,

00:24 Yongfu's sugar orange, with its glossy and smooth skin,

00:28 that can be easily peeled off,

00:31 is famed for its succulent, juicy flesh and sweet and tangy flavor.

00:38 The climate in Yongfu is more rainy in spring and summer,

00:43 and less rainy in autumn and winter.

00:45 This is beneficial for the growth and development of sugar oranges.

00:48 Another advantage of Yongfu sugar oranges is that they are more suitable for the spring festival market.

00:52 Because of the dry molding we adopted,

00:55 we can avoid the damage to the fruit juice from frost.

00:58 The juice will stay in the fruit juice until the spring festival,

01:00 and the price will be better at this time.

01:02 These sugar oranges have been vital in boosting local income and prosperity.

01:09 We started growing sugar oranges in 2016.

01:12 At first, we planted about 10 hectares,

01:14 and then we expanded to more than 20 hectares.

01:17 In 2023, we will produce about 50,000 to 60,000 kilograms.

01:22 According to the current price,

01:24 we can sell sugar oranges for 13 to 140,000 yuan this year.

01:29 In 2021 and 2022,

01:32 we will increase the price by 15% to 20%.

01:37 Now I'm at a fruit packaging factory

01:41 where the freshly picked sugar oranges will undergo a meticulous process

01:48 before getting trucked to their final destinations,

01:52 such as Southeast Asia and Russia.

01:55 Today, I had the pleasure of tasting this delicious local fruit,

02:03 the name Yongfu in Chinese means "eternal good fortune."

02:08 And this little sugar orange has been acting as a carrier

02:12 that helps bring fame and fortune to the locals.

02:16 [End of Audio]

02:17 [End of Audio]

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