"In the future, we aim to achieve a stable supply of 10,000 heads per month," Zeng Youjun, General Manager of Sichuan Ruiheliang Agricultural Technology Development Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Ruiheliang Company), an export trade enterprise, has set a new goal. His remarks came as 1,000 Tibetan fragrance pigs from Heishui County in Aba Prefecture completed their long-distance journey to Hong Kong, where they will soon appear on local dining tables.

Sichuan is one of the 13 major grain-producing areas in the country. As the province drives forward the development of a full industrial chain for its competitive and distinctive agricultural sector, coordinated efforts across the agrarian production supply chain, deep and refined processing chain, and brand value chain have propelled "Sichuan Brand" specialty agricultural products into fast-track global expansion. In 2024, the province's export volume reached 1.29 billion U.S. dollars, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 25.1 percent.

How are Sichuan's agricultural exports performing? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Recently, the reporter investigated this matter.

Current Export Situation:

Fruit Exports Sustain Growth While Aquatic Products Emerge as Dark Horse

"Kazakhstan, customs clearance!" Recently, another shipment of PaPa mandarin oranges from the China Late-Maturing Citrus Trade and Logistics Park located in Qile Town, Danling County, Meishan City, has cleared customs and is preparing for export to Kazakhstan. Yang Jing, Deputy General Manager of Sichuan Dan Orange Modern Fruit Industry Co., Ltd., an enterprise operating in the park, commemorated the occasion by sharing it on her WeChat Moments.

Since its first export to Thailand at the end of 2023, in less than two years, Danling's late-maturing citrus has successfully opened up export channels to countries such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, and Russia. In 2024, Danling exported 1,300 tons of late-maturing citrus, a 187-fold increase over 2023 volumes. The park is currently pursuing GlobalG.A.P. certification. Upon approval, Danling County's late-maturing citrus will gain access to EU markets, significantly expanding its international reach.

Statistics show that in 2024, Sichuan's agricultural exports surged to 1.29 billion U.S. dollars, marking a 25.1 percent year-on-year increase. Among these, fruits are a traditional major product for Sichuan's agricultural exports. In recent years, diverse varieties and the distinctive advantage of off-season marketing have driven steady growth in the province's total fruit export value. In 2024, Sichuan's fruit exports—led by lemons and citrus—totaled 160 million U.S. dollars, accounting for 12.4 percent of its total agricultural exports and reflecting a 33.9 percent year-on-year increase.

Meanwhile, Sichuan's aquatic products have emerged as a dark horse in overseas market expansion. "Aquatic products now rank top among the province's agricultural export categories and hold a strong competitive position nationally," stated a relevant leading official from the Exchange and Cooperation Division of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. The official introduced that Sichuan's aquatic exports are primarily comprised of fish oil, fish lipid solids, and caviar. Fish oil and fish lipid solids lead national exports in their categories, while caviar ranks second domestically. In addition, with Ya'an, Sichuan's primary caviar production area, continuing to expand its production capacity, the province is projected to overtake Zhejiang and become China's leading caviar exporter.

"In terms of export categories, aquatic products, fruits, beverages, vegetables, and livestock products rank as the top five export categories in the province. Their combined export value accounted for 49.5 percent of the provincial total. Specific products, including fish oil, fish lipid solids, lemons, caviar, and baijiu, demonstrate particularly strong export competitiveness. In terms of export destinations, Sichuan's agricultural products reach over 120 countries and regions, primarily concentrated in ASEAN countries. The United States, Hong Kong SAR of China, Viet Nam, Indonesia, and the Philippines represent the province's major export markets," the official from the Exchange and Cooperation Division of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs introduced.

Sichuan's Export Edge:

Large Quantities, Superior Quality, and Off-Season Marketing Power Resilient Growth in Agricultural Exports

Amidst today's complex and rapidly evolving international environment, exports confront multidimensional challenges. How has Sichuan maintained resilient growth in its agricultural exports?

"First and foremost, we have precisely pinpointed our competitive advantages." The official from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs introduced that, unlike traditional agricultural powerhouses like Shandong and Hebei, Sichuan derives its competitive edge from the unique characteristics of its agricultural products. In recent years, Sichuan has developed a growing number of distinctive off-season agricultural products characterized by both high qualities and large-scale outputs, including fruits, vegetables, tea, and aquatic products. "In response to the issues faced by these agricultural products, such as subpar export standards, weak international brand recognition, and limited market channels, we focus on supporting production bases to align with international markets through international certification acquisition and brand registration, ultimately expanding agricultural export pathways."

The construction of Bases for High-Quality Development of International Agricultural Trade (hereinafter referred to as International Trade Bases) represents another strategic focus for dismantling export obstacles. Since 2022, Sichuan has dedicated annual financial resources to support the development and cultivation of these bases, focusing on obtaining international certifications and recognition, implementing global standards, developing independent brands, improving export value chains and industrial chains, and delivering trade promotion public services. Currently, the province has initiated applications to develop nine national-level and 42 provincial-level International Trade Bases. Additionally, 34 companies have successfully applied for the production bases of the "vegetable basket" project for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Jiajiang County in Leshan City is one of the nine national-level International Trade Bases in Sichuan. "Driven by the demonstration of the International Trade Bases, the county has nurtured three leading enterprises specializing in deep and refined tea processing for export and obtained independent operation rights for exported tea," introduced Cai Yonghong, Deputy Director of Jiajiang County Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Last year, Jiajiang County processed 50,000 tons of tea, with over 40,000 tons destined for export markets, solidifying its position as the "No. 1 county for Sichuan tea exports", Cai added.

With established production capabilities and trade bases in place, Sichuan vigorously cultivates the "Sichuan Brands" for agricultural exports, organizes various forms of overseas promotions, and supports enterprises in participating in domestic and foreign exhibitions and display activities. Since 2023, Sichuan has launched the "Tianfu Granary" Premium Products Tour along the Belt and Road, conducting sustained overseas promotion activities and investment negotiation conferences. In 2024 alone, Sichuan's agriculture and rural affairs departments have coordinated nine overseas promotional campaigns, mobilizing nearly 400 representatives from over 180 agribusinesses. These efforts generated three million yuan in on-site sales and secured almost 400 million yuan in intended orders, igniting global market enthusiasm for "Sichuan Brand" agricultural products. Through dedicated provincial funding for international agrarian cooperation, Sichuan currently supports local agribusinesses in global market expansion, having established seven display and sales centers and overseas warehouses in export markets.

Concurrently, Sichuan leverages domestic exhibition platforms, such as the China International Food and Ingredients Expo, the Sichuan Agricultural Expo, the China International Agricultural Trade Fair, and the Cross-Strait Modern Agriculture Expo, to establish dedicated export agricultural product zones and host specialized promotional events, facilitating buyer engagement and trade negotiations. In addition, Sichuan supports places like Luzhou in applying for the Global Geographical Indications Products Expo and organizes special international forums or conferences on lemons, vegetables, pickles, tea, and other agricultural products, aiming to elevate the brand influence of its export agricultural products.

In a coordinated effort to boost Sichuan's agricultural exports, last year, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs collaborated with the Office of the Provincial Party Committee Leading Group for Rural Work, the Department of Commerce, and the Chengdu Customs District to jointly issue the province's inaugural Implementation Plan of Sichuan Province for Promoting the Work on Agricultural Product Exports. The plan clearly emphasizes agricultural export development through three focal points: counties with established agricultural export strengths, the Bases for High-Quality Development of International Agricultural Trade, and agrarian export demonstration enterprises.

Spotlight on Initiatives:

Strengthening Bases, Cultivating Export Entities, and Promoting Steady Agricultural Exports

As China's gateway for western and southern opening up, Sichuan possesses unique geographical and resource advantages to foster opening-up development for its agricultural products. The Implementation Plan of Sichuan Province for Promoting the Work on Agricultural Product Exports proposes that the province's total export value of agricultural products will exceed ten billion yuan by the end of 2027, marking a new level in the development of export-oriented agriculture.

"Currently, Sichuan's agricultural exports face several shortcomings and bottlenecks, such as an inadequate number of agricultural product export bases, insufficient processing, storage, and transport capacity for exports, and a shortage of leading enterprises in export trade." The official from the Exchange and Cooperation Division of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs stated that the full implementation of RCEP, alongside the growth of cross-border e-commerce and improved international logistics, will create new opportunities for agricultural exports from inland provinces like Sichuan.

How can Sichuan seize opportunities, strengthen its advantages, and shore up weaknesses to sustain resilient growth in agricultural exports?

"We must base ourselves on the foundation of Sichuan's advantageous and characteristic industries, selectively strengthen export bases, cultivate export-focused entities, remove export bottlenecks, bridge export breakpoints, and solve export difficulties, ultimately promoting the stable export of Sichuan's key advantageous and characteristic agricultural products," stated the official of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Strengthening the construction of export bases is a primary task. Sichuan will focus on developing five key export sectors of aquatic products, fruits, vegetables, Chinese medicinal herbs, and tea, as well as key processing industries, including baijiu production, fruit/vegetable processing, condiments, and snack foods, and select areas with a foundation in export industries, development plans, export enthusiasm, and certain international market resources to cultivate a batch of high-quality export bases and enterprises.

Trade enterprises are a key component in agricultural product exports. "Recent export achievements demonstrate the pivotal role of trade enterprises: Xichang City in Liangshan Prefecture recorded over 20 million U.S. dollars in grape exports last year, while Heishui County in Aba Prefecture recently achieved its first successful shipment of Tibetan fragrance suckling pigs to Hong Kong." The official from the Exchange and Cooperation Division of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs stated that Sichuan plans to encourage qualified counties (cities at the county level, districts) to attract coastal trading companies or large-scale provincial agricultural product trading enterprises, guide places with conditions to establish comprehensive agricultural export service platforms, and explore the building of a provincial-level comprehensive service platform for agrarian product exports, providing one-stop export services. Support will also be given to agricultural product export enterprises to utilize online channels, such as cross-border e-commerce, independent websites, and live-streaming sales, in conjunction with the development of overseas warehouses to tap into international markets.

To further increase the output value of exported agricultural products, Sichuan will also accelerate the construction of cold chain storage facilities and distribution centers at the origins of agricultural produce, support the cultivation of agricultural processing enterprises, and enhance agricultural processing capabilities. These efforts will convert agrarian goods, particularly fresh items, into processed products that are easier to store, thereby lengthening the industrial chain.

"In addition, further efforts will be made in areas such as export capacity, financial support, customs facilitation, and international market development, continuously enhancing the global competitiveness of Sichuan's characteristic agriculture," stated the official from the Exchange and Cooperation Division of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.