Facilitating global expansion for growth

—behind Huaihua’s booming agricultural export

(Blue Phoenix Agriculture seizes the initiative to go global)

A “Blue Phoenix” from the mountainous area

“From now on, we will make full use of the foreign trade platform of Huaihua International Land Port to reach more customers and grow our agricultural export,” said Lei Huaying, Chairwoman of Mayang Blue Phoenix Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., who is always clear-cut and decisive in both her words and actions. “We are continuing to expand into markets like Southeast Asia, Europe and America, North America, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Russia, and Southeast Asia will be a focus. As we work on building strong export bases, we are turning the region into a key export hub, so that characteristic agricultural products like Mayang’s sugar oranges can reach even more places around the world.” Her words made sense. Since 2023, Blue Phoenix Agriculture has built on the resource advantages and leveraged Huaihua International Land Port, a key engine driving export-oriented economic growth in inland regions. The company has set up a dedicated team to actively explore agricultural import and export trade with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It has successfully opened up markets in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, paving a new path for Mayang’s agricultural products to go global. “By boldly expanding the market, we have been able to put our plan to shift from basic agriculture to export-oriented agriculture into action. At the same time, we have improved and expanded our standardized production foundation, and our sales have grown from RMB600 million to over RMB1 billion.” In recent years, Blue Phoenix Agriculture has worked to expand its domestic trade sales while actively promoting the direct supply of fresh, high-quality agricultural products such as sugar oranges, eggs and vegetables to Hong Kong and Macau. The company’s exports have also reached markets in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Russia, Uzbekistan, Canada, the UAE, and others. Since 2024, the company has further expanded into central European markets, including Hamburg in Germany and Austria. Its business network has continued to grow, with a broader export reach and a more balanced approach to both domestic and foreign trade. Located in Mayang County, reputed as a “World Longevity County”, the company has leveraged its brand advantage to pursue green and eco-friendly development. After a decade of dedicated efforts, its business scope has steadily expanded. The farming facilities, after three rounds of upgrades and expansions, have grown into an agricultural development complex integrating layer hen farming, mountain land development, flower and seedling cultivation, characteristic fruit production, organic fertilizer processing, and agricultural product distribution. The company and its base have received numerous national-level honors, including recognition as a “National Women’s Poverty Alleviation Demonstration Base” and one of the “Top 50 Most Influential Poultry Farms in China”. Chairwoman Lei Huaying has also been honored with titles such as “National March 8th Red-Banner Pacesetter”, “National May 1st Women’s Model Worker”, and “National Leader of Poverty Alleviation Demonstration Base”. Blue Phoenix Agriculture has truly spread its wings and transformed into a “Golden Phoenix”. Jingzhou Guoling Technology Co., Ltd. has also achieved notable results in going global. On March 15, 2024, Guoling Technology and Weibaishi (Commerce and Trade) Hong Kong Co., Ltd. jointly established Hunan Guokai Import and Export Trade Co., Ltd., with a mission to bring local specialty products from Jingzhou and Huaihua to international markets. As at the end of 2024, the company exported 50 tons of products, mainly dried Poria cocos, to markets such as South Korea and Southeast Asia, generating over RMB1.2 million in revenue. “We plan to grow our export business this year. We have set targets for total export volume and market share,” said Li Huanguo, Chairman and Legal Representative of Guoling Technology. “We have put together a professional sales team to handle market research, client development, and sales execution.” Guoling Technology sits at the Poria Cocos Science and Technology Industrial Park in Jingzhou, which is known as the “Hometown of Poria Cocos in China”. Dedicated to full-chain development of the Poria cocos industry, the company has its operations cover strain cultivation, GAP-compliant base development, Poria cocos processing and trade, health products, traditional TCM decoction pieces, as well as technical support and system development related to Poria cocos. Li Huanguo openly stated that exporting products is certainly a positive step, because it gives them a pricing advantage and drives continued improvement in product quality. “At Jincun Village, Shenzhen, we handle re-export business of over RMB1 million every year,” he said.

(In agricultural export, you have to catch the eye before satisfying the appetite.)

From natural resources to export strength

Leveraging its abundant natural resources, Huitong County has made significant strides in promoting and expanding the export of bamboo products. According to the county’s task force on bamboo industry development, two major large-scale enterprises—Hunan Rongjing Bamboo Industry Development Co., Ltd. and Huaihua Jianting Bamboo Co., Ltd.—are currently leading local bamboo export. Since their establishment, both companies have been committed to bringing high-quality bamboo products to global markets and earning strong international reputations for their excellent product quality and service. Their exported bamboo products, including furniture, tableware, packaging, chopsticks, skewers, sushi mats, and more, are primarily shipped via inland ports like Huaihua International Land Port to coastal hubs such as Shenzhen Port, Qinzhou Port in Guangxi, and Nansha Port in Guangdong. From there, they are exported to over 20 countries and regions including Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Europe, and North America. In 2024, their total export value approached RMB100 million, with a total industrial output surpassing RMB600 million. To better serve overseas logistics, sales, and services, the two companies have also established warehouses in Thailand, Vietnam and other locations, staffed with elite teams dedicated to business management. The establishment and expansion of the export business of the bamboo industry has had a positive impact on the county’s economy. According to head of the task force, one of the most immediate impacts has been increased job opportunities. Relevant enterprises have not only directly employed a large number of local workers, but also stimulated the growth of connected industries and employment thanks to the driving force of the upstream and downstream industrial chain. In terms of economic growth, the growing scale of export from leading bamboo enterprises has directly contributed to Huitong County’s economic growth and brought in substantial foreign exchange earnings. In terms of industrial upgrading, these enterprises have played a vital role. In response, Huitong County has begun to develop the RCEP Bamboo Product Intensive Processing & Foreign Trade Industrial Park, which integrates intensive processing and foreign trade export and achieves both ecological and economic benefits. The industrial park is expected to be a model and benchmark for advancing the local bamboo industry and promoting economic transformation across the county. Jingzhou has also made impressive achievements in the development of the bamboo industry. According to the Commerce, Technology, and Industrial and Information Technology Bureau of Jingzhou County, the county’s agricultural export performance in 2024 grew by over 15% year-on-year, exceeding expectations. Jingzhou’s major export products include bamboo chopsticks, bamboo skewers, and bamboo flooring, led by key players such as Hunan Chenming Bamboo Products Co., Ltd. and Hunan Yiou Bamboo Industry Co., Ltd. The main export destinations include Japan, South Korea, the United States and Europe. In 2024, Jingzhou’s efforts to stabilize foreign trade proved effective. The county actively developed support policies to help enterprises expand into overseas markets. It upgraded its project database, widely promoted assistance policies, and distributed policy handbooks to ensure that enterprises could make full use of government funds, so as to stabilize business operation and unlock new markets abroad. Jingzhou also stepped up research to identify new growth areas in export, placing focus on nurturing and growing foreign trade import and export enterprises such as Chenming Bamboo, Yiou New Materials, Jiashunhua, Zhantong Technology, and Feirou. It held weekly coordination meetings to track export and logistics in real time, so as to build a core force in the local foreign export sector. It accelerated capacity release and went all out to help enterprises reach full production. Through project-based, list-based, and link-based support, the county helped enterprises speed up and scale up production for output increase. To support business operation, it worked to improve the business environment by strengthening communication and coordination with customs and tax departments, so as to address their problems in customs clearance, export rebates, and foreign exchange receipt and payment, help foreign trade enterprises solve real-world problems, and unlock their export potential step by step.

(The dual-track trade economy drives export earnings while fueling domestic employment.)

With a streamlined “One-Lock Customs Clearance” system and a coordinated, multi-pronged approach, Mayang, known as a “World Longevity County”, is steadily advancing the clustered export of agricultural products. The initiative featuring “One-Lock Customs Clearance, Going Global Together” is a unique export initiative developed by Mayang. In recent years, Mayang has leveraged Huaihua International Land Port, its location within the Wuling Mountain area, its thriving fruit and vegetable industries and other comparative advantages to establish a shared prosperity mechanism featuring “One-Lock Customs Clearance, Going Global Together” for agricultural export. This mechanism is designed to introduce the fruits and vegetables grown in the Miaoling Mountains to global markets. According to the Publicity Department of the CPC Mayang County Committee, in 2024 Mayang’s export of characteristic agricultural products was projected to reach RMB1.04 billion, doubling year-on-year. The county was approved as the third in China and the first in Huaihua to pilot the mode of “combined shipment of fruits and vegetables + centralized declaration” for direct supply to Hong Kong. These practices were featured in the Essential Information Brief by the General Office of CPC Hunan Provincial Committee and the Government Affairs Bulletin by the General Office of the People’s Government of Hunan Province, with an aim to launch the “consolidated export” model and establish a foreign trade hub. Deeply integrated into the development of Huaihua International Land Port, Mayang has leveraged its strategic location within the “Huaihua 10-minute” and “Huaihua-Jishou-Tongren 30-minute” economic circles to strengthen collaboration with Huaihua, Jishou in western Hunan Province, and Tongren in Guizhou Province in railways, expressways and airports. It has also actively developed port industries and a model featuring “characteristic agricultural products + goods consolidation by enterprises + overseas export”. So far, the ZTO Smart Logistics Industrial Park has been established in Mayang, and projects like the Mayang Smart Agricultural Product Cold-chain Logistics Park of China Co-op Group and the Greater Western Hunan · Changhe Logistics System have been progressing rapidly. The county has successfully introduced and cultivated 18 export-oriented enterprises, including Blue Phoenix Agriculture and Dilin International, and a regional goods consolidation and logistics market has taken shape. The county has pioneered the “One-Lock Customs Clearance” model for direct supply. It has developed a distribution supply chain integrating production, processing, cold-chain and logistics, established the model of “combined shipment of fruits and vegetables + centralized declaration” for direct supply of agricultural products to overseas markets under the “One-Lock Customs Clearance” model. Specifically, the county implements combined packaging, centralized declaration, unified inspection and release for exported fruits, organic vegetables and other agricultural products to improve customs clearance efficiency. The county has scaled up cross-border e-commerce operation. By deploying electronic customs locks via Huaihua International Land Port, the average clearance time is cut by over 12 hours, and transportation costs are reduced by two-thirds. To foster shared prosperity, Mayang has developed a “chain-export” model that involves farms (cooperatives and individual farmers), leading enterprises in industrial chains and grouped supply. Three provincial-level agricultural leading enterprises including Blue Phoenix Agriculture, Taifeng, and Sannong have been designated as leading enterprises in the export industrial chain of characteristic agricultural products and received financial credit, export subsidies, export rebates, full-process services and other policy support. Cooperatives, family farms, and individual farmers producing characteristic agricultural products that meet export standards have also been encouraged to form alliances and supply goods overseas. In 2024, during the picking season of Mayang sugar oranges, Mayang signed purchases and sales contracts worth RMB260 million with 150 buyers from 14 countries. Rural residents saw an average income increase of RMB1,856. The “One-Lock Customs Clearance” system enables direct supply to ASEAN, Europe, North America, and Hong Kong. Through government support and enterprise investment, Mayang designated Blue Phoenix Agriculture as the leading enterprise in the industrial chain. It invested a total of RMB45 million in projects to resolve practical issues such as land, dedicated power lines, export subsidies, and export rebates of an export logistics & warehousing base of 65 mu (4.33 hectares) and a production base of 25 mu (1.67 hectares). The county established a direct supply mechanism for agricultural products to Hong Kong, advancing the cross-border e-commerce smart customs transfer between Mayang and ASEAN, effectively clearing data bottlenecks in agricultural export, and facilitating logistics and smooth information sharing across customs zones. The county allocated special development funds and implemented the “reward-instead-of-subsidy” policy. It made improvements to 143,100 mu (9,540 hectares) of citrus varieties, built 105 characteristic fruit industry demonstration parks, and applied organic fertilizers across land of 62,000 mu (4,133.33 hectares). A large number of high-quality agricultural production bases have emerged, including the “Mama Liang” selenium-rich egg farm, “Chengfeng Chenghuang” sugar orange base, Zhoushang Village vegetable base, and Blue Phoenix Agriculture fruit processing base. From then on, Mayang exports forged a smooth path to the world, unimpeded and ever-expanding.

(Bamboo products from Huitong County are sold in international markets)

From vegetables to a full industrial chain

At present, agricultural export is showing strong momentum, and Hunan’s vegetable export has emerged strong. In 2024, Hunan Province exported 771,000 tons of vegetables, marking an increase of 9.9% compared to the same period in 2023. The total export value reached RMB12.96 billion, hitting a record high with a growth rate of 4.6%. This marks the second consecutive year that Hunan’s vegetable exports have exceeded RMB10 billion. To be specific, Huaihua City exported vegetables worth RMB1.22 billion, growing by 120.8% and maintaining rapid development. Meanwhile, Hunan’s comprehensive agricultural export sector is showing steady and promising progress. On January 20, the 2024 Hunan Foreign Trade Import and Export Press Conference was held in Changsha, conveying an important message: Hunan Province’s agricultural export showed strong growth momentum in 2024. According to Changsha Customs, the province exported agricultural products worth RMB23.48 billion in 2024, an increase of 7.9% year-on-year. The major exports included vegetables, fresh and dried fruits and nuts, meat products, and hairy crabs, many of which ranked among the top nationwide. Huaihua, a rising player in this sector, has made strategic and impactful moves within this broader provincial effort. According to Huaihua Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the city has leveraged the development of the Huaihua International Land Port to vigorously promote agricultural export, achieving significant breakthroughs in recent years. From January to October 2024, Huaihua’s agricultural exports reached RMB1,401 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 229.8%. Main export products included vegetables, fruits, and eggs, destined for markets in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Huaihua has introduced the Several Measures for Supporting High-quality Development of Foreign Trade, and relevant departments currently are drafting the Several Measures of Huaihua City for Promoting High-quality Development of Agricultural Foreign Trade. The city plans to allocate special funds through rural revitalization programs and other means to incentivize agricultural export. In addition to the major export categories of fruits, vegetables, and bamboo products, other exported goods such as tea, meat products, edible oil, pickled vegetables, alcoholic beverages, and spring water are also produced, albeit on a smaller scale, across almost all counties (cities and districts) in Huaihua City. This reflects both the city’s united efforts to improve export performance of characteristic agricultural products and the challenges it faces—a limited product mix, low added value, insufficient technological content, and underdeveloped full-industrial chain operation. A representative from Huitong County’s task force on bamboo industry stated that this year, they will accelerate the development of the Huitong-RCEP Bamboo Product Intensive Processing & Foreign Trade Industrial Park. They will fully support export-oriented enterprises in utilizing local green bamboo resources, expanding into overseas markets, and promoting the high-quality development of the bamboo industry, thereby enhancing the region’s international economic competitiveness. Efforts will focus on strengthening international cooperation and exchanges, planning promotion strategies for bamboo products, facilitating coordination in the upstream and downstream industrial chain, and launching a solid platform for export business of relevant enterprises. They will also actively follow up on the loan project with Asian Development Bank. For economically less-developed areas, accelerating the export of agricultural products is an efficient way to scale up and strengthen the broader economy and a new quality productive force in developing boarder agriculture. This has increasingly become a consensus in Huaihua. Looking ahead, the Commerce, Technology, and Industrial and Information Technology Bureau of Jingzhou County plans to use bamboo product export as an opportunity and a breakthrough point. Their strategy includes further emancipating the mind, fostering innovative thinking, expanding foreign trade players and channels, and achieving steady growth in foreign trade imports and exports, thereby ensuring significant results in foreign trade in 2025. Lei Huaying primarily shared her observations and reflections from a business operation perspective. She pointed out that the production and logistics standards for relevant products still need improvement. In particular, the lack of refrigerated trucks during transportation has been a key factor causing instability in export logistics. “We need to make a change,” she emphasized. She suggested improving the toll-free expressway policy for green channels and promoting the combined shipments of poultry and egg products, fruits and vegetables directly to Hong Kong. Additionally, she proposed establishing a regional agricultural product distribution center in Mayang to serve the Wuling Mountain area. She also stated that Blue Phoenix Agriculture will continue to uphold its philosophy of “green, eco-friendly, and technological innovation”. The company will align with international standards for agricultural production to enhance the competitiveness of Mayang’s agricultural products in global markets and continuously strengthen the brand image of Mayang products.

(Jingzhou Guoling Technology Co., Ltd. is making steady and rapid progress by exporting its Poria cocos products via Hong Kong to South Korea, Southeast Asia and other places.)

(Advanced production equipment is crucial in ensuring the quality of exported agricultural products)

(Bamboo products, including chopsticks, skewers, and flooring, have become Jingzhou’s main agricultural exports)

(Translated by Professor Yu Jie)