STORY: Foreign specialty crops thrive amid China's economic vitality
SHOOTING TIME: File
DATELINE: Nov. 20, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:23
LOCATION: KUNMING, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the planting areas of coffee, avocados and macadamia nuts
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): DENG JIALU, General manager, Yunnan Simao Beigui Coffee Co., Ltd.
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): ZHAWA, Manager at an avocado planting base in Nanya Village, Menglian County

STORYLINE:

Coffee, avocados and macadamia nuts, originating from various parts of the world, have been widely grown in China's Yunnan, earning widespread acclaim in the global market.

Pu'er City, famous for Pu'er tea, a deep-brewed tea with a sweet aroma, is making a name for itself as China's coffee capital.

In 2022, the city's coffee planting area reached 679,000 mu (about 45,267 hectares), and the output value of the coffee industry exceeded 5 billion yuan (about 696 million USD).

It has become a leading city within China in terms of both coffee production and output value.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): DENG JIALU, General manager, Yunnan Simao Beigui Coffee Co., Ltd.
"Over the past year, we have seen an increasing number of foreign customers. In the beginning, they didn't know China produces coffee, but now they have realized that China grows high-quality coffee. An increasing number of people have been attracted here."   

Avocados, increasingly popular among China's urban residents, were predominantly imported into China.

Now, Menglian County in Pu'er has emerged as the largest avocado-planting county in the country.
   
The total avocado planting area in Menglian has exceeded 70,000 mu (4,667 hectares), with this year's avocado output to surpass 10,000 tonnes.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): ZHAWA, Manager at an avocado planting base in Nanya Village, Menglian County
"Nowadays it's much easier to plant avocados compared to other crops. I think avocado planting is a very promising industry for increasing incomes. It has improved many planters' lives. My family bought a car using the profits made last year."

Native to Australia, macadamia nuts found their way to Yunnan in the 1980s when the province began experimenting with cultivating this exotic nut.

As of October 2023, the macadamia nut planting area in Lincang City, Yunnan Province had reached more than 2.6 million mu (about 173,333 hectares), accounting for over half of the global total.

Through the years, these crops have evolved into pillar industries in the border areas of China, reflecting the country's expanding engagement with the world and its robust economic vitality.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Kunming, China.
(XHTV)