Navel orange farmers surprised by Premier’s reply

2016-12-07
english.gov.cn/Jiangxi Daily

Farmers at a navel orange base in Ruijin, Jiangxi province, were happily discussing Premier Li Keqiang’s letter of reply along with 200 yuan.

The story began when Premier Li made an inspection visit on Aug 22, speaking highly of local people’s “internet plus” initiative of quality regulation and online sales.

So, in order to report on the development of the local navel orange industry and express thanks, the villagers sent a letter and two boxes of fresh navel oranges to the Premier.

In his letter, Premier Li said he is happy to hear about the growing sales of their navel oranges in the domestic market as well as the international market, such as the European Union, with the help of the internet.

At the end of his letter, the Premier sent his sincere wishes for happy lives of the villagers.

Regarded as the “hometown of navel oranges” in China, the southern region of Jiangxi province is famous for its cultivation of the tasty fruit.

The move created nearly one million jobs for local rural areas and made the navel orange industry the backbone of the local economy.

According to statistics, in 2015, the planting area for navel oranges in southern Jiangxi reached 1.57 million mu (104,667 hectares), with a yield of 1.28 million tons and production value of 65.8 billion yuan ($9.6 billion), making the region the world’s largest for navel oranges.