Garlic farmers in Qixian county of Kaifeng, Henan province, have recently embraced the harvest season. The cultivation of garlic has become a pillar industry in the county.
"More farmers are getting rich from planting garlic. We will take advantage of the brand as 'home of garlic' to facilitate the high-quality development of the local economy," said Dai Jitian, Party chief of Qixian.
In recent years, the county's garlic planting area has stabilized at 700,000 mu (46,667 hectares) with an annual output of 960,000 metric tons of garlic. It has formed a complete industrial chain from planting to storage, processing, sales, and research and development.
According to Zhang Kaimin, president of Qixian's garlic association, the county has a high-ranking garlic trade market with an annual trading volume of 2 million tons and a transaction value of 11 billion yuan ($1.58 billion).
It is home to the province's only garlic and garlic products quality supervision and inspection center.
The county now boasts more than 80 garlic processing enterprises, with some garlic products exported to Indonesia, Thailand, New Zealand, Malaysia and other countries, according to Zhang Yongbo, head of Henan garlic industry group.