Southwest China's Guangxi Tian'e county held a pearl plum promotion conference at Shenzhen Higreen Logistics Park on Aug 1.

Sponsored by the Guangdong Second Poverty Alleviation Workgroup, the Hechi agricultural bureau and the Tian'e government, the conference led to signing of agreements worth over 4.2 million yuan ($615,300), greatly increasing local farmers' income.

With a unique geographical environment, including suitable climate and soil, abundant water resources and clean air, Tian'e county is well suited for growing pearl plums. Its plums are chewy and tasty, and are mainly sold in Guizhou, Sichuan, Guangdong and Hong Kong.

In order to help undeveloped rural areas and reduce poverty, Guangdong and Guangxi established a poverty-alleviation cooperation and counterpart support relationship. The work group guides local farmers to improve planting methods and helps accelerate the growth of certain agricultural industries. As a result, demand for local characteristic agricultural products has been steadily increasing.