"In Lixian County, the total production area of Huaniu apples is around 5,336 hectares. This year, bad weather conditions like hail have caused a lower crop, but the fast sales during the past few years encouraged farmers to expand their production areas. Thus the total crop is close to that of last year, " said Liang Zhao from Yuanliang Green Produce Ltd in Lixian County.
"With normal weather conditions, the harvest starts in September and lasts till March. We registered our own trademark of Yuanliang Green Produce and export our apples through traditional channels to Southeast Asia via the ports in Shenzhen and Qingdao. The current export price is $1.5 per kilo, 20% lower than last year. The reason for the lower price is that the crop of other popular apple varieties is ideal. In the meantime, the trade barriers in countries like Indonesia have caused lower export volume."
"Huaniu apples are a specialty of Tianshui. The variety has a crispy texture and juicy flesh with lovely fragrance and great quality. Many industry experts consider it to be one of the best apple varieties together with Red Delicious from the U.S and the Fuji from Japan. It's also our first apple brand with a trademark on the international market."
