The first batch of waxberry exports from Zhejiang province this year recently departed from Qingtian county in Lishui. The 260 kilograms of fresh fruit were airlifted to Spain, marking the start of Qingtian's overseas waxberry sales this year.

Farmers pick waxberries in Qingtian county, Lishui, Zhejiang province. [Photo/Tide News]

In the waxberry base in Qingtian's Baipu village, farmers harvested the waxberries under a strict quality control system involving enterprise testing, farmer self-inspection, and government supervision.

Jin Suhong, head of Lishui Jitao Ecological Agriculture Development, said all exported waxberries come from customs‑registered bases, with samples tested by both customs and the county agricultural bureau.

Waxberries from Qingtian county, Lishui, Zhejiang province. [Photo/Tide News]

After harvest, the waxberries were pre‑cooled, sorted, and packaged on automated assembly lines at an intelligent sorting center in Youzhu subdistrict before being sent to the airport.

Jin added that the order for Madrid involves four metric tons of greenhouse waxberries, with additional orders under negotiation for Italy, France, and the Netherlands.

Leveraging its overseas Chinese network and complete agricultural export chain, Qingtian has been shipping waxberries to Europe for years.

The county plans to continue promoting trade through overseas Chinese, establish an overseas agricultural trade alliance centered on its overseas Chinese agricultural product market, and boost large‑scale, standardized, and branded exports.