"Currently, Guangdong Lichee exports have achieved double-digit growth year-on-year." "Guangdong Zhongli Agricultural Group's lychee exports this year increased by more than 30% year-on-year." "Overseas, 200 yuan/carton (5 kg) of Guangdong lychees , A cabinet is sold out at once"... On June 24, the "2020 Guangdong International Network Litchi Festival Silk Road Promotion Conference" was held in Guangzhou. At the scene, good news of litchi export sales frequently came, conveying the increasing confidence of the "friend circle" in overseas sales of "Cantonese brand" specialty agricultural products.

The scene of the exchange meeting. Photo by Li Jinxi issued by Xinhua Net

According to statistics from the Guangdong Branch of the General Administration of Customs, from January to May this year, the export of registered litchi orchards in Guangdong "breaks through" against the trend, with an export volume of 1598.7 tons, a year-on-year increase of 11.2%.

It is worth mentioning that the price of lychee exported this year has increased instead of falling. “The purchasing prices of some mid-to-high-end brands of Guangdong litchi tend to stabilize at a high level. When the price is high, overseas buyers are more confident and the demand is stronger.” Chen Yaohua, Chairman of Guangdong Zhongli Agricultural Group (referred to as “Zhongli Group”) Say.

Zhongli Group is the first enterprise specializing in the export of litchi in Guangdong Province established under the guidance of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Guangdong Province. Chen Yaohua said that strong publicity by the government and the media will help stabilize the sales price of litchi and benefit exports.

Relying on the digital platform of “guaranteed supply, stable price and peace of mind” for agricultural products in Guangdong, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Guangdong continues to expand the “circle of friends” for overseas sales of lychees, and a series of innovative marketing methods are also continuously launched: the holding of the Guangdong International Network Litchi Festival, "The first flight of China Southern Airlines' passenger plane, the operation of the high-speed rail "Guangdong Lichee", and the image of Guangdong Lichee on the big screens of cities inside and outside Shanghai...

The guests also discussed how to cultivate lychee enterprises, polish up the international brand of Guangdong lychee, improve the cold chain preservation technology and the quality and safety of agricultural products.

To export lychees, you first need to obtain the qualification of an export record base at the customs.

As of January 2020, there are 137 agricultural export demonstration bases in Guangdong Province. In accordance with international standards, these bases fully implement standardized management in production, processing, storage, and circulation, and lay a solid foundation for improving the quality and safety of agricultural products in Guangdong Province and international competitiveness.

Chen Yaohua said that Zhongli Group is composed of seven holding companies with more than 10 years of experience in lychee planting, preservation, and export sales. In the next three years, it will build more than 50 demonstration bases exclusively for export in the province. He hopes the government will help more. The export record of agricultural products bases in China is conducive to the realization of large-scale export by "joining ships to sea".

"Strike iron must be hard by itself." You Hong, deputy director of the Inspection and Quarantine Office of the Guangdong Branch of the General Administration of Customs, said that enterprises that want to export litchi must strictly supervise the production process, strengthen the control of agricultural inputs, establish a quality and safety management system, and ensure that the exported litchi "sources meet standards."

The deputy inspector of the Party School of Guangdong Provincial Party Committee (Guangdong School of Administration) stated that the development of lychee exports requires brand, standard and scale to complement each other. Guangdong should cultivate leading enterprises, build a big data platform for export alliances, and promote large-scale export of agricultural products through international standardization.

Next, the Guangdong litchi industry will work hard in the following ten aspects to further promote the export of Guangdong litchi: one is to improve the position and strengthen awareness; the second is to cultivate the main body and build alliances; the third is to solve problems and promote development; the fourth is to plan new products. Expand areas; fifth is to establish bases to ensure quality; sixth is to create standards and build brands; seventh is to expand cooperation and form a joint force; eight is to grasp "small cuts" to achieve major breakthroughs; nine is to study and learn from and introduce policies; ten is Build a chain and form an ecology.