Bumper harvest for Fenghua honey peaches

People promote Fenghua honey peaches via livestreams. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Ningbo's Fenghua district is enjoying a bumper harvest of honey peaches this year.

The district’s output of the fruit this year is estimated to be 20 percent higher than the previous year, thanks to the lack of strong winds and heavy rains this rainy season, according to Chen Miaojin, head of the Fenghua Honey Peach Research Institute.

The honey peaches have also been selling well despite a surge in price, according to local peach farmers.

Wang Zhiqing, a farmer in Yunji village, Xiaowangmiao sub-district, said he has grown 10 mu (0.67 hectares) of honey peaches this year and can sell nearly 300 kilograms of the fruit every day.

The wholesale price for some premium quality peaches – with a weight of more than 250 grams - can reach up to 30 yuan ($4.62) per kilogram, more than double that of the previous year, according to another local peach farmer surnamed Bei.

Fenghua has been growing honey peaches for more than 2,000 years, and this is why the district has been dubbed the "hometown of honey peaches in China". The fruit grown in the district is known to be especially soft, juicy and sweet.

This year, the fruit's planting area in Fenghua spans more than 50,000 mu, official statistics show.

Efforts have been made to ensure the smooth transportation of the honey peaches. Thirty-two postal service stations have been set up around honey peach orchards in Fenghua, and 40 trucks, including four equipped with refrigerators, have been dispatched to transport the fruit.

In addition, the local government has launched 31 air routes.

Presently, honey peaches ordered by Ningbo residents can be delivered to them within the same day, while orders from cities in Zhejiang as well as outside Zhejiang can be delivered within a day and two days respectively.