By Xu Zhuowei
Harvest season recently began for "Red Beauty", a premium variety of citrus, in Ningbo's Xiaotang Township, Xiangshan county.
Walking into Xiaotang, you will be surprised by how the golden "Red Beauty" fruits are hanging on the branches. It is in its best harvest time, making farmers busy picking.
"The quality of 'Red Beauty' this year is particularly good. The sugar content is high thanks to the climate this year," said Chen Qingzong, the citrus farmer. The hot and dry weather in the first half of the year and the middle of the year is very good for improving the sugar content of the pulp, and the taste is obviously better than that in previous years.
In Xinguo Agriculture, a fruit company, the huge sorting yard is full of baskets of "Red Beauty", and staff are busy packaging and carrying. The company also introduced a smart fruit picker, which greatly improved the efficiency of the assembly line operation.
"We started to sell goods five days ago, and now the daily output has reached 20,000 kilos," said Yang Haibo, the head of the company, "We grow our own plants and also purchase from farmers. Every batch of 'Red Beauty' will be tested for quality, and we found that the sugar content this year is particularly high, reaching 12-13 degrees, even 18 degrees, which is higher than the result of previous years."
Yang Haibo said that the market retail price fluctuates with the quality. At present, the price per kilo of premium fruits is about 44 yuan.
The output of "Red Beauty" this year is the same as that of previous years, and the price is generally the same, yet the premium becomes slightly more expensive. Thanks to the long picking period of "Red Beauty" in Xiangshan, even in December, we may also enjoy the freshness brought by the delicious fruits.
Chief Adviser: Zhou Fangzhou
Proofreader: Dong Na