Tech enables SW China's orange markets to blossom

CHONGQING — Drones have started being used for mountainous logistics in Fengjie county, Southwest China's Chongqing, to airlift freshly harvested oranges from remote orchards to distribution hubs.

Located in rugged mountains, Fengjie's unique microclimate, with ample sunlight and rainfall year round, is ideal for orange cultivation. The terraced fields, carved into the slopes, are home to thousands of orange trees tended by generations of farmers. "In the past, we relied on manual transport, which was not only time-consuming but also posed safety risks," said farmer Yang Minghua, adding that the use of drones significantly reduces transportation costs while boosting efficiency.

Previously, it took Yang half an hour to carry a basket of oranges down the mountain on foot.

Now, as soon as a basket is filled, a drone steadily lifts the oranges and flies over the mountain, reaching its destination in just 10 minutes. To meet rising consumer demand in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, as well as in international markets, Fengjie has deployed over 200 drones to overcome the bottlenecks of traditional transport.

He Yi, director of Fengjie's strategic emerging industry development center, said that drone-assisted logistics has increased the efficiency of harvesting navel oranges in the region by more than 50 percent, while slashing costs by about one-third.

Fengjie has expanded its navel orange planting area to 25,533 hectares, with output expected to exceed 500,000 metric tons for 2025.

Once harvested, oranges are taken to packaging centers for sorting and protective waxing before being loaded into insulated containers. To ensure freshness for overseas consumers, flights depart weekly from nearby airports.

Complementing its offline logistics efforts, Fengjie is building a cloud-based sales channel to expand the market reach of its oranges, using livestreaming to connect farmers directly with consumers. Shao Chenbing, an official in Shuangnian village, promoted the local specialty during one livestreaming session, by saying, "Our navel oranges grow by the Yangtze River and have plump, tender and juicy flesh."

Fengjie has mobilized town and village officials, along with local professionals, to form livestreaming teams. Ren Zhongying, a farmer from Shuangnian village, said sales of local oranges are spreading wider and wider. "In the past, we either waited for fruit dealers to come to the village or sold our oranges at county stalls," Ren said. "This year, village officials helped us with livestreaming sales, allowing us to sell up to 500 kg of oranges per day, with both prices and volumes higher than previous years."

These teams also act as livestreaming mentors, guiding farmers in setting up accounts and creating engaging livestreaming scenes. This enables more farmers to conduct independent broadcasts.

Fang Gang, a former white-collar worker who returned to Daba village in Fengjie to become an online influencer, said he has no regrets about his decision. "Livestreaming from the orchard works very well, with the majestic Three Gorges scenery and vast orange groves attracting many likes and much attention from netizens," he said. Fang said he has accumulated over 10,000 followers on social media and can sell hundreds of tons of navel oranges annually through livestreaming.

Xinhua