“As the government attaches great importance to industries, it’s the right time to repay the hometown,” said Zhu Wanbing, adding that the cold chain distribution center helps thousands of households to increase their income and he must shoulder the responsibilities on the road to industrial prosperity.

 

Zhu Wanbing, 56 years old this year, is from Waisha Village, Maqiao Town, Rucheng County. He was engaged in the trade and sales of small yellow ginger in Dongguan City of Guangdong Province before and was successful in the eyes of his parents and villagers. However, he was always concerned about the development of the small yellow ginger industry and income increase of villagers in his hometown.

 

As a traditional advantageous industry to help farmers increase income, small yellow ginger has been planted in Rucheng for hundreds of years and has always been favored by consumers for its fresh color, delicious taste, and good quality.

 

As the local government released comprehensive measures to establish local bases, cultivate leading enterprises, create brands, and extend the industrial chain, there was a planting area of more than 50,000 mu (about 3,333.33 hectares) across the county last year, with a production value exceeding 1 billion yuan. Especially in Maqiao Town, the main production area, more than 40,000 mu (about 2,666.67 hectares) of small yellow gingers were planted, which brought more income for farmers.

 

When small yellow ginger of Rucheng is harvested every autumn and winter, it is also a time for ginger to come into market nationwide. Faced with unfavorable factors such as a highly competitive market and low prices, many growers often either sold at low prices or store the ginger in cellars for staggered sales, but its short preservation time may cause much wastage and safety hazards. The lack of specialized and large-scale ginger distribution centers in the local area also restricted the high-yield and efficient development of the small yellow ginger industry.

 

Zhu Wanbing was deeply concerned about the urgent difficulties of his hometown. In 2020, when Maqiao Town encouraged him to return to his hometown for entrepreneurship, he readily agreed and said, “I have experience and market in the ginger industry. To repay my hometown, I’ll help people to increase income through developing the industry.”

 

 

 

In June 2021, he established Xinlong Agricultural Development Company in Rucheng, aiming to build an integrated industrial system for cultivation, processing, high-quality variety R&D, and sales of agricultural products. He quickly set up sales outlets in many areas of the country, laying a solid foundation for helping small yellow ginger and other agricultural products enter a broad market.

 

Subsequently, with the support of county and town governments in funding, land acquisition and demolition, planning and design, he built a small yellow ginger cold chain distribution center with 10 local farmer professional cooperatives and family farms with the investment of 50 million yuan in Xialiu Village of Maqiao Town, becoming the first professional demonstration base for refrigeration, processing, and sales of ginger in the city.

 

In the distribution center, workers were busy with packaging and loading ginger as well as sales. 

 

Hu Suwen from Yanzhu Village of Maqiao Town, said that his 150,000 kilograms of small yellow ginger can be stored in the cold chain for off-peak sales, which will bring him more income.

 

The center has a cold storage capacity of 21,000 cubic meters and is divided into cold chain storage area, small yellow ginger cleaning area, graded sorting area, and packaging area. It can store 15,000 tons of small yellow ginger. The cold chain loss rate is controlled at around 5% through scientific temperature and humidity regulation and the physical storage period of ginger is extended to more than one year, which will increase income for off-peak sales and reduce market risks. Every year, the center also provides jobs for more than 20,000 people.

 

“Last winter, the average price of small yellow ginger stored in the center was only over 6 yuan per kilogram. After that, the selling price generally exceeded 10 yuan per kilogram, with a maximum of 16 yuan,” said Zhu Wanbing. Intensive procurement, unified storage, and centralized sales help open up channels between buyers and ginger farmers. Nowadays, small yellow ginger of Rucheng is popular across the country such as Guangzhou City of Guangdong Province and Nanchang City of Jiangxi Province.

 

In addition, in order to boost villagers’ income, he also established the Rucheng County Ginger Association, and there are 336 members in various regions. It has played an effective role in seeking loans, guiding technology, organizing ginger culture festivals, building brands, and expanding sales channels, in a bid to promote the continuous and rapid development of the ginger industry in Rucheng County.

 

“I’m so delighted to see the small ginger brings better life to people,” said Zhu Wanbing. There is great potential for rural development and he will continue efforts to advance the development of the industry chain in a bid to promote rural development, increase agricultural efficiency, and enrich farmers.