Veggies spur rural rebound in Shandong's county

Rows upon rows of potatoes in constant-temperature cold storage are nowadays being shipped to large supermarkets across China from a cooperative in Hefang sub-district – located in Huimin county, Binzhou city in East China's Shandong province.

They're proving a real hit with consumers – and even the shippers are big fans.

"We've had signed orders with them since 2023. Their black potatoes and green vegetables are very popular," said a truck driver from Boxing, another county in Binzhou.

The cooperative also has a preliminary potato processing plant, which keeps the potatoes fresh and ensures they're sold at high prices even if the market fluctuates, said Li Guoxin, an official of Guandaoli village, where the cooperative is located.

The village has established a tropical fruit planting base, a black potato planting garden, and a storage and logistics company, which have increased the annual income of the village by 600,000 yuan ($84,068) and the income of the villagers by more than 70,000 yuan.

In addition, the Hefang sub-district has invested 12 million yuan in the construction of support facilities for the vegetable base and built three special vegetable demonstration bases. This has incentivized farmers to plant more than 80 million mu (about 5.3 million hectares) of vegetables, generating an annual turnover of 3.9 million yuan. (Edited by Fan Yuanyuan)