BEIJING, Sept 5 (INP): Agricultural experts from Pakistan while attending International Training Workshop on Kiwi Industrial Technology in Cangxi, Sichuan hoped to enhance kiwifruit cooperation with China. Experts from other countries, Egypt, Nepal and Mongolia besides Pakistan are learning Chinese kiwifruit technology at the Workshop, China Economic Net (CEN) reported on Thursday. Cangxi, located on the northern edge of Sichuan Basin and at the southern foot of Daba Mountains, is the birthplace of red kiwifruit.  Unlike ordinary kiwifruits that are villous, mostly green and sour, Cangxi red kiwifruits are smooth and hairless on the surface, with radial red stripes in the core. 

As of the end of 2023, with a 395,000-mu (about 26,333-hectare) planting area covering 31 villages and towns in Cangxi, the local kiwifruit industry has an annual turnover of 6.31 billion yuan, accounting for 35% of the county's agricultural output value, and hires more than 200,000 people.  Currently in Cangxi, through lectures, visits, experiments and practices, overseas experts will have a better understanding of variety breeding, intellectual property protection, base construction, field management, warehousing logistics, brand building, marketing of the red kiwifruits systematically.  “The red kiwifruit here grows well and tastes delicious. Hope I can bring Cangxi's red kiwi technology and products to more places through some cooperation projects,” Dr. Muhammad Akhlaq from PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi said. 

According to Dr. Ruidar Ali Shah from University of Swabi, Cangxi Kiwifruit Research Center impressed him a lot. “They put great efforts to do research on all aspects of kiwifruits and develop the kiwi industry. I’m quite looking forward to seeing what new achievements they will make in the future,” he said.   It’s learned that the workshop is hosted by Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Science and Technology of China and undertaken by Sichuan Provincial Academy of Natural Resource Sciences, Cangxi County Government and Guangyuan Municipal Science and Technology Bureau. The two-week training will be conducted in two phases in Cangxi and Chengdu separately. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP) — Pak-China