Hainan To Begin Harvesting Durians This Summer

As durians continue to gain popularity on the Chinese market, domestic cultivation of the fruit is also expanding in China’s southern island province of Hainan. According to local media reports, Sanya, the southernmost city of Hainan Island, is expected to harvest 93 hectares of durians in June of this year. The total production is forecast at 2,450 metric tons, with an estimated value of 140 million Chinese yuan ($20.5 million). The durians will originate from Hainan Sanya Yucai Ecological Durian Plantation Base (海南三亚育才生态区榴莲基地), which has over 560 hectares of land devoted to the fruit.

The plantation base is run by Hainan Youqi Agricultural Company (海南省优旗农业股份有限公司). Founded in 2018, Youqi has now developed into one of the most prominent companies in Hainan’s durian sector. According to deputy general manager Deng Zhicheng, Youqi has employed over 30 professionals ranging from Southeast Asian durian experts to domestic horticultural engineers and agronomists. With the aim of improving durian planting techniques and developing new cultivars, the company has also entered into partnerships with a handful of China’s top scientific research institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences and the Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences. At present, Youqi has seedlings of over 100 durian varieties, many of which are native to countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.

According to an officer from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Hainan Province, Sanya stepped into durian cultivation four years ago. Since then, the city has been trying to turn durian production into one of its key industries. At present, approximately 670 hectares of land in Sanya are devoted to the crop, with 20–30% of the trees beginning to bear fruit. It is projected that the durian trees will start to see good fruit production in one to two years. Moreover, the total planting area is scheduled to exceed 3,300 hectares in five years. At that time, durians should become another key fruit item from Sanya alongside mangos. The development of this new industry is also expected to stimulate the construction of durian processing, packaging and storage facilities.

If everything goes as planned, Sanya will center its durian sector on the Yucai plantation base and create a model that integrates companies with farmers. In total, Hainan province currently has over 2,000 hectares of durian plantations, mainly in the southern parts of the island, such as the cities of Baoting, Sanya, Ledong and Lingshui.

Image: Pixabay

This article was translated from Chinese. Read the original article.