Recently works are busy sorting and packing "Sunshine Rose" grapes at an agricultural product company in Lixian County, Changde City. These grapes will not only be supplied to major domestic supermarkets like Walmart and Freshippo, but will also be exported to more than 10 countries, including the Philippines, Bangladesh, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates. It is estimated that Lixian County's export volume of "Sunshine Rose" grapes will exceed 5,000 tonnes this year, representing a year-on-year increase of over 30%.

The photo shows workers sorting grapes. (Photo provided by Changde Daily)

Lixian County, located near 30 degrees north latitude, is China's main production area for mid-season table grapes and is hailed as the "Turpan in south China." This year, the grape cultivation area in Lixian County has reached 67,000 mu (about 4,467 hectares), with an estimated total output value exceeding three billion CNY.

To gain a "freshness" advantage for Lixian grapes, the Changde Customs Authority has arranged related work in advance since the start of summer, including early intervention, monitoring, and customs clearance. The authority also added Lixian grapes to the pilot list of "batch inspection" reform for exported agricultural and food products. With the exported grapes passing on-site customs inspection, other fruits within the same batch are exempt from repeated on-site checks, enabling a streamlined process of application, inspection, and customs clearance.

Cutting-edge technologies lay a foundation for Lixian County's grape industry development. In partnership with Hunan Agricultural University, the county has developed nine provincial-level technical specifications to standardize vineyard management, including cultivation practices, pest and disease control, organic fertilizer application, and quality grading, to enhance grape quality. To date, 11 grape products have been approved as green food, while 15 varieties certified as pollution-free agricultural products by the national authority.

The increasingly robust industrial chain has fortified the thriving of Lixian County's grape industry. The county now operates 15 standardized sorting centers and more than 340 pre-cooling storage facilities with a total cold storage capacity exceeding 40,000 tonnes, creating a "field-to-table freshness guarantee" that elevates grape quality. Thirty-five grape-growing cooperatives across the county have worked with nearly 7,000 farming households to establish ten county-level and 51 town-level standardized demonstration orchards, propelling its viticulture technology to national forefront status.

In 2026, Lixian County plans to stabilize the cultivation area of "Sunshine Rose" grapes at approximately 50,000 mu (about 3,333 hectares), while strengthening core industrial chains covering production, processing, storage and transportation, as well as marketing. The county will also develop derivative sectors including agricultural services, material supplies, and agritourism.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: hunantoday