September 10 to 12, the International Blueberry Organization (IBO) Summit 2017 was held in Qujing, the second most populous city in Yunnan Province. The Summit was hosted by Qujing Municipal People's Government, Department of Agriculture of Yunnan Province, International Blueberry Organization (IBO), and organized by the Blueberry Branch of China Good Agri-products Development & Service Association (CGAPA), and Joy Wing Mau. The co-organizers included the District People's Government of Qilin, Malong County People's Government, Shizong County People's Government, and the Qujing Economic & Technological Development Zone Administration Committee.
Distinguished guests included the Secretary of Qujing Municipal Party Committee Li Wenrong, Vice Governor of Yunnan Provincial People's Government Zhang Zulin, Chairman of IBO Peter McPherson, Mayor of Qujing and Deputy Secretary of Qujing Municipal Committee Dong Baotong, Joy Wing Mau’s Chairman of the Board Liao Maohua, and President of Joy Wing Mau Zhang Jian.
The summit invited 29 representatives from 15 IBO member nations along with hundreds of guests from influential domestic and international enterprises.
The first IBO Summit held in China
Having been held for five years, this year is the first time that the IBO Summit and IBO Meeting were held in China.
The IBO is a global organization that brings together leaders from all segments of the global blueberry industry including producers, marketers, affiliated businesses, social groups, and governmental organizations.
In recent years, China's blueberry industry witnessed rapid growth. The great potential for blueberry consumption has drawn attention from international fruit companies and was the catalyst for China being selected as IBO Summit 2017 destination.
International and Chinese blueberry industry reports published
Under the theme "Yunnan: New Horizon for Blueberries ", this year’s IBO Summit programme included summit forums, sub-forums, an exhibition on high-elevation agriculture, and a "Blueberry Night " party.
During the summit forum, IBO’s Mr. McPherson from IBO and Mr. Li Yadong, Executive President of CGAPA Blueberry Branch, gave consecutive speeches concerning the "International and China Blueberry Industry Report", which analyzed the current status of the global blueberry industry and its developmental trends.
Director of the Yunnan Provincial Committee of Agriculture and Director of Yunnan Provincial Department of Agriculture, Wang Min, addressed the “Yunnan Province Blueberry Development Opportunity Report ", in which he invited global blueberry leaders to come to Yunnan for cooperation.
President of Joy Wing Mau, a leading company in the Chinese fruit industry, Mr. Zhang Jian gave a speech titled, “Sharing value and promoting the development of China's blueberry industry". He hopes to create an optimum fruit value chain ecosystem for both growers and consumers through cooperation with industry partners.
To recognize outstanding contributions of individuals, enterprises, and organizations to the blueberry industry, the summit prepared five awards. Joy Wing Mau was awarded "Outstanding Pioneer Enterprise of the Blueberry Industry Award"—the company’s fruit brand Joy Wing Blueberry won "Most Influential Brand of the Year” as well.
Qujing and Joy Wing Mau built China’s “Blueberry Capital"
Qujing is the representative producing region of China’s southern highbush blueberry. Beginning in 2014, Qujing and Joy Wing Mau reached a consensus to cooperate in blueberry production. They co-invested in blueberry industry supply chain projects and introduced the U. S. highbush blueberry.
Mr. Zhang Zulin, Vice Governor of Yunnan Province, touched on the background establishing China’s “Blueberry Capital” in Yunnan Province. He mentioned the highlights of Yunnan’s agricultural development that are advantageous for crop growth including its mild climate and acidic soil.
Blueberries produced in Qujing are high-quality, large, rich in sugar content, and have just the right level of hardness. Moreover, fruits are cultivated in open fields here, which allows blueberries to mature in early April. And consequently, Qujing blueberries are very competitive in global markets during the supply gap between April and May.
Currently, in Qujing, thousands of acres have been dedicated to blueberry cultivation, which accounts for half of that in Yunnan Province. Furthermore, Joy Wing Mau has established a high-end "five in one" blueberry industry chain consisting of research and development, seedling breeding, planting demonstrations, warehousing sorting, and logistics sales. And the development trend is promising. Vice Governor of Yunnan Province Zhang Zulin said, “IBO summit will make Qujing the new focus of the global blueberry industry. The next step is to invite international blueberry companies and experts to Yunnan and make Yunnan blueberries a brand with international influence."
