Northwest China's Shaanxi Province is to host the First International Apple Symposium on Monday 10 October, as the region aims to produce one-seventh of the world's apples by the end of this year.
According to a press conference in Beijing on Sunday, the symposium will be held from Monday to October 16 in the cities of Yangling and Yan'an, Shaanxi Province. The symposium will be attended by more than 1,000 representatives from governments and enterprises, as well as 150 experts from more than 30 countries and regions.
According to Bai Qinyi, head of Shaanxi's agriculture department, the province aims to expand its apple plantation area to 733,333 hectares by the end of this year, boosting its annual apple production to 11 million tons.
The crop will account for one-fourth of China's apple production.
The province also vows to increase its apple production to 12 million tons by the end of 2020.
According to statistics released at the press conference, Shaanxi exported 510,000 tons of apples in the first half of this year. The province has exported apples to 80 countries and regions and has in recent years tapped into markets in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Bangladesh and Myanmar, all of which are along the Silk Road economic belts.
Of the 37 million people in Shaanxi, roughly 10 million, or 27 percent, work in apple-related industries, said Bai. Fruit-related industries contributed 37.5 billion yuan (5.77 billion) worth of added value in Shaanxi in 2015 and helped lift farmers in 44 counties out of poverty.
