(Shaanxi apples on display at the Great Hall of People in Beijing. Photo: Jiang Jie/People's Daily Online)
Northwestern China's Shaanxi province will hold an International Apple Symposium (IAS) from Oct. 10-16, a provincial leader said on Oct. 9. The symposium will be the first of its kind.
The decision was issued by the International Society of Horticultural Science (ISHS), and carries the full recognition and approval of China's apple industry, according to Feng Xinzhu, deputy provincial governor, at a press conference on Oct. 9. Feng added that the first IAS will be held in Yangling and Yan'an in Shaanxi province.
According to Bai Yiqin, head of the Shaanxi agricultural department, more than 150 representatives from over 30 major apple-producing countries will participate in the symposium, which is expected to draw more than 40,000 attendees.
Han Zhenhai, deputy executive president of the Chinese Society for Horticultural Science, noted that 24 out of the 35 apple species available worldwide are originated in China, and was responsible for slightly more than half the world's apple production in 2014.
"China is indeed a major world power in the apple industry,' he said.
Currently, Shaanxi's apple production area measures 11 million mu, or 7.3 billion square meters. This year's harvest is expected to yield more than 11 million tons, which will be a quarter of all apples grown in China and one-seventh of all those grown in the world, Feng said.
According to information released at the press release, only Shaanxi apples are served at the Great Hall of People, and Shaanxi apples were also available at major events including the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai and the 2016 G20 Hangzhou summit. The fruit is also exported to more than 80 countries and regions, achieving foreign exchange of no less than 1.85 billion RMB.
By 2020, Shaanxi's apple plantations will reach about 12 million mu, with production totaling 16 million tons, according to Bai. As the world's largest concentrated juice manufacturing base, Shaanxi is also home to half of all the concentrated juice in China and one-third of that in the world, Feng noted.
Han Jun, deputy director of the Office of the Central Rural Work Leading Group, remarked at the press conference that it is rare to see over 10 million people in the apple industry in one province. Han also pointed out that the industry includes much more than plain apples, and that apples have helped countless people avoid poverty.