The blueberry plantation run by the Bashange Fruit and Vegetable Cooperative in Dengqiao village, located in Xinghua city, East China's Jiangsu province, recently welcomed a group of Malaysian fruit merchants.
The guests conducted a fact-finding mission on the planting techniques, growth environment and the quality of the blueberries there and held discussions on the procurement scale, modes of doing business and the export standards of blueberries.
Founded in 2013 by capable returnee Deng Xiaocun, the cooperative mainly planted grapes at the start-up stage.
Later, Deng decided to transform the grapes venture into planting blueberries in 2024 and introduced efficient lighting technology, an automated drip irrigation system and integrated water and fertilizer equipment to ensure the excellent quality and abundant yield of the crop.
Deng also installed air conditioning in each greenhouse, creating a far more pleasant growing environment for the blueberries.
In addition, the 5,000 free-range bees in the greenhouse bear the responsibility of pollinating the blueberries and further enhancing the flavor of the fruit.
Deng's blueberry plantation has also provided over 60 valuable employment opportunities for villagers.
"The negotiations with the Malaysian fruit merchants brought new development opportunities for our cooperative," Deng said.
He added that he will push to improve the profile of the blueberries from Dengqiao village in the global market and inject new vitality into the area's rural vitalization.