The China-ASEAN Expo held a special ceremony in Nanning，Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to market China’s top-quality fruits on Oct 22 in 2011 and Shanxi province got a chance to displayed its best offerings.

The was sponsored by China’s Ministry of Agriculture and attracted officials from the Agriculture, Finance, and Commerce ministries; the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine; eight major fruit producing provinces; company executives; and delegates of ASEAN agricultural departments and fruit processors.

Part of the opening ceremony involved a fruit trade agreement between Chinese and ASEAN companies, where three Shanxi companies – the Huarong Fruit Co Ltd, of Wanrong county, and the Qilin Fruit Co and Yaohua Fruit Co, of Qixian county -- signed agreements with Indian and Singaporean companies to export apples and pears. The deal was worth 124.7 million yuan.

Shanxi has a long history of fruit cultivation, and had 550,000 hectares planted in orchards by the end of 2010, producing 6.13 million tons of fruit. It can process 350,000 tons of apple juice annually and its fruit industry has become a pillar of the economy in many rural areas.

While this event was going on, there was a ceremony at the Haijixing wholesale market in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where a truck laden with top-quality Shanxi fruits and a sign “Shanxi fruits exported to ASEAN”, drove through the site to the amazement of visitors.

After the ceremony, the Shanxi delegation held business talks with wholesalers and purchasers at the market. Senior Agriculture Ministry officials, who got a look at the Shanxi display in the main exhibit, spoke highly of the province’s achievements.