Idyllic treasure mountain, three seasons with flowers, four seasons with fruits. Since the beginning of autumn, more than 10,000 acres of apples here have been full of branches and blowing their heads in the wind, exuding a rich fruity aroma. After 67 years of development, Baoshan apples now have an annual output of 25,000 tons and an output value of nearly 200 million yuan, and have been approved as national geographical indication certification trademarks and have also given birth to 6 resounding brands. As a "star product" in the Baoshan apple series, Ming Yue apples are green and yellow, crisp and juicy. High spindle pruning, integrated irrigation with water and fertilizer, green pest control... Since it was introduced to Baoshan Town in 2003, this early-maturing variety has taken root downward, grown upward, and steadily improved in quality, and the average selling price has increased from 1.5-2 yuan / jin to 5-10 yuan / jin. Behind the strong fruit industry and rich fruit farmers, it is inseparable from the fruit development idea of "branding, standardization and industrialization" in Baoshan Town. On this fertile ecological soil, the apple industrial structure has been continuously optimized and upgraded, which has also reflected the rural revitalization road.
Bright moon apples that are not "sold by the basket"
"Mingyue apples must not be sold by the basket, we must go high quality and build a high-end brand." It was Guo Sheng, secretary of the party branch in Xiaowoluo Village, Baoshan Town, who said this. In 2019, with full enthusiasm for rural construction, he came to the village through the open selection of the Organization Department of the Qingdao Municipal Party Committee. Guo Sheng learned during his visit that the locally grown apples belong to the high-quality varieties of Baoshan Mingyue apples, which is a key breakthrough in order to effectively promote the income of the village collective and villagers.
The standardized production of agricultural products is an important factor in broadening their value-added space. Combined with the guidance of the superiors, Xiaowoluo Village took the lead in establishing a professional cooperative for agricultural products led by the party branch, unified planting standards, optimized management technology, and hired experts to guide and ensure the quality and safety of fruits.
"When the fruit season comes, some growers look forward to harvesting all the good fruits with a diameter of more than 80mm." Guo Sheng is well aware of the pain point of "high-quality cannot sell at a good price", and needs to transform industrial advantages into brand value. Under the guidance of the party committee and government of Baoshan Town, the professional cooperatives in the village registered the "Xiaole Wo" brand, and "grouped" into Jinan, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other cities for publicity and promotion, attracting a large number of buyers, and the added value of fruits was greatly improved.
In three years, the apple planting area in Xiaowoluo Village has increased from more than 200 acres to 516 acres at present, and the price has also doubled. "Since Apple can be sold for a price, I can earn nearly 100,000 yuan more a year." Local villager Liu Shouhui told reporters that now the road to the orchard has been repaired, and good apples are not worried about selling.
For the future planning of the apple industry in Xiaowoluo Village, Guo Sheng's thinking is also clearer: using cooperatives as a carrier, on the one hand, to help fruit farmers continue to reduce costs and improve quality, on the other hand, to "go out" to connect with domestic large customers. The whole village is twisted into a "strand of rope" to jointly promote industrial revitalization.
Shangchai Village fruit farmers "plant" brand awareness
"Baoshan out of the bright moon, bright moon on the firewood." Shangchai Village is the birthplace of Baoshan Mingyue apples, and about eighty percent of the villagers here grow apples. In recent years, relying on good ecological and fruit planting advantages, the village has actively implemented the apple regional public brand development strategy.
"Hello everyone, I am Chai Wanfang from Shangchai Village, we grow Baoshan Mingyue apples here, now take everyone to the orchard to see, this apple skin is thin and crisp and sweet..." Since last year, local apple grower Chai Wanfang began to test the water short video platform, which has also become a new channel for him to expand new customers, "The Shanghai customer I just met on the Internet ordered dozens of pounds of apples and was preparing to send an express delivery." ”
Chaifang has been growing apples for more than 30 years, and he vaguely remembers that his apples could only be sold for 1.5-2 yuan / jin in 2014, and the merchants would lower the price again. "The biggest change in recent years is that the government has helped us do publicity together." An Apple promotion conference in 2018 made him realize the importance of branding, he registered his own brand, designed unified packaging, and opened the "two-way running" of doing a good job in quality and making the brand bigger. Chai Fangwan told reporters that this year's fruit prices are 9-10 yuan / jin, and 20 mu of apples have been ordered as early as late September, "In the past, it was good to earn 18,000 a year, and now the annual income is almost more than 200,000." ”
From the story of Chai Fangwan's income increase, it is not difficult to glimpse the energy level leap of the apple industry in Shangchai Village. It is reported that in 2021, the income of local villagers increased by 35% compared with the previous year. In addition, Shangchai Village also took advantage of the unique cultural attributes of the word "bright moon" in "Bright Moon Thousand Miles of Love", pioneered the integration of national landmark agricultural products and Chinese culture in Qingdao, and launched the "Bright Moon National Style Gift Box" high-end characteristic agricultural products to increase the cultural added value of apples.
"Huaguo Baoshan": deeply cultivate the development of high-quality fruit industry
Every year around the Mid-Autumn Festival, Baoshan Mingyue apples enter the peak fruiting period, its fruit shape is correct, the excellent fruit rate is high, the flesh is slightly yellow, the taste is refreshing, the juice is sweet and crisp, the sugar content can reach up to 17-18%, rich in potassium, calcium, phosphorus and other trace elements, in the apple sales market with high quality "out of the circle". This is inseparable from the unique ecological environment advantages of "Huaguo Baoshan Mountain", which is located at the "lifeline of fruit planting" at 35 degrees north latitude, and is the birthplace of two important rivers in Qingdao, Feng He and Yang River, laying a solid foundation for the development of high-quality fruit industry in the town. Since 1955, Baoshan Town has begun to grow apples, and has continuously promoted the modernization, scale and intensive development of the apple industry. At present, the apple planting area of the town has reached more than 10,000 mu, mainly three varieties of Mingyue, Fuji and Venus golden honey.
Quality is a prerequisite and key factor in branding, especially for agricultural products. In order to ensure the quality and safety of fruits, Baoshan Town guided the establishment of a professional cooperative for agricultural products led by a party branch in the main apple producing village, and carried out cooperative promotion actions to promote standardized production, the fruit setting rate of fruit trees was significantly improved, and agricultural demonstration parks and boutique parks were also built one after another. At the same time, the local government firmly implements the "integrity is a treasure, quality is the mountain" apple brand construction action and quality traceability system construction action, fully implements the fruit quality traceability system, pastes a traceability code for each box of apples, and links the origin park. In 2018, Baoshan Apple won the honor of "National Brand" - was approved as a national geographical indication certification trademark, among which Baoshan Mingyue Apple won the gold award of the 21st China Green Food Expo.
Cohesively shape the brand, and create momentum externally to expand the market. Based on the "Baoshan Treasure Hunting" rural picking tour brand, Baoshan Town vigorously develops the "trunk economy", builds a characteristic boutique picking park, creates a green pastoral tour, flowers and fruits and other rural revitalization boutique tourism routes, and strives to create a "new situation" in the integration of agriculture and tourism. At the same time, from September to October every year, Baoshan Town will open a series of diversified brand promotion activities around the "apple season", further promoting the popularity of Baoshan apples in the province and even the whole country, so that the apples of fruit farmers are of high quality and high price, and the income is also increasing.
From apples to blueberries and kiwifruit, the specialty fruit industry has become a "golden industry" for the people of Baoshan Town to get rich and increase income, and "fruit township" is surging with "fruity" stories. (Qingdao Daily/Guanhai News reporter Liu Qin/Wen Yin Yawei/Photos)