A longan production and marketing conference was held in Gaozhou, a county-level city in Maoming, on June 29, attracting 65 purchasers from all over the county.

Gaozhou is located in the transitional zone between tropical and subtropical systems, as well as boasts favorable climatic conditions for fruit cultivation.

The history of longan plantation in Gaozhou can be traced back to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24). Currently, the city has a longan cultivation area of 320,000 mu (21,333.33 hectares), with a yearly output of more than 180,000 metric tons.

Chuliang Longan, which gets its name due to its origination from Chuliang village in Gaozhou, has won gold medals many times in domestic and overseas fruit competitions, which has led to its nickname of "Gold Medal Longan." The current cultivation area of Chuliang Longan around the globe exceeds 2.5 million mu, making it the longan variety with the largest planting area in the world.

Chuliang Longan. [Photo/WeChat account: maofabu]

The longan production and marketing conference is an important part of the 2020 Gaozhou Longan Cultural Festival, which kicked off on June 20 and will last until July 11.

Eight purchasing enterprises signed letters of intent for cooperation with productive enterprises from Gaozhou, including Qianhai Bendinong (Shenzhen) Technology Industrial Limited and Hunan Jiahui General Merchandise Co Ltd.

The Gaozhou people's government also signed a strategic agreement with Guangdong Yimutian Network Technology Co Ltd to cooperate in promoting the city's agricultural products. On June 24, a special trading area for Gaozhou longan was launched on the Yimutian online platform.