Villagers branch out to embrace olive oil riches

Money tree

In 2013, with local government assistance, the company helped the farmers establish cooperatives, which improved communication and allowed them to set mutually acceptable harvest dates.

"This has ensured orderly production in our plant," Liu said.

A year later, construction of a new 12-hectare production base began. The new plant processed more than 18,000 metric tons of fresh olives last year.

Statistics that are still being compiled show that so far the company has helped lift 21,678 local people out of poverty, Liu said.

To date, Xiangyu Olive Oil has paid almost 1 billion yuan ($154 million) to local farmers for their fruit.

At present, its annual production value is more than 200 million yuan.

The company's development has helped olive oil become one of the major industries in Longnan.

According to the local government, the area under olive tree cultivation in the city has expanded from 16,000 hectares in 2013 to 42,000 hectares, accounting for half the national total.

The industry employs more than 400,000 farmers and has helped 40,000 people shake off poverty.

The local government noted that the city produced 5,700 tons of olive oil last year, 90 percent of China's output.

In addition to Xiangyu Olive Oil, there are now 20 other producers of olive oil and byproducts in Longnan.

Local olive oil has won international recognition and gold awards at competitions in the United States, Japan, Australia, Israel and Greece, the government added.

That's good news for Liu, who said Xiangyu Olive Oil only managed to break even a few years ago.

She used to help the company's development with money her family makes by selling electricity from a small hydropower station to State Grid, the national power company.

Xiangyu Olive Oil saw sales soar last year as its high-quality products won greater recognition domestically and imports were affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

With the help of the country's policy of alleviating poverty through greater domestic consumption of goods and services provided by people in poor areas, the company is expanding its market at home and abroad, Liu said.

"Our vision is to build a world-leading olive oil company that covers the entire industry chain."

However, experts said Longnan still has to address a number of challenges to build national brands.

Deng Yu, vice-president of the Longnan Economic Forestry Research Institute, said that despite Chinese olive oil winning international recognition, the scale of the city's companies is still small compared with major international producers. That means their transportation costs are high, while their processing capabilities are low.

Jiang Chengying, an olive oil expert at the Gansu Forestry Science and Technology Research Academy, said a lack of relevant knowledge and skills means some farmers fail to see their trees bear fruit, while others experience poor harvests. This has exerted a negative effect on efforts to raise incomes.

She called on the authorities to set a national standard for olive quality. "Without such standards, bad money is driving out the good," she said.