Workers process freshly picked waxberry in a cold chain workshop in Qingtian county, Lishui. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The greenhouse waxberry produced in Qingtian county, Lishui, Zhejiang province has entered its picking season, with the first batch of 1,000 kilograms of waxberry exported overseas, local media reported on May 30.

After undergoing a series of processes such as pre-cooling, sorting, weighing, and sealed packaging, they will embark on a transoceanic journey to Italy.

"This is the first batch of waxberry exports this year, with a total of 435 boxes weighing 1,000 kg. It takes about 14 hours to ship them from Shanghai to Milan," said Wu Huaqiang, an employee of Qingtian Zhongzhi Commodity Trading Co.

According to Wu, in order to allow consumers to taste the freshest batches, the county government's supply and marketing cooperative and Qingtian Zhongzhi are providing point-to-point transportation services for local farmers.

While reducing the time between picking and processing, preserving the freshness during transportation is also a key factor affecting the quality of waxberries. To address this, Qingtian Zhongzhi has developed brand new anti-fogging cold chain packaging to ensure that waxberries remain fresh even after long-distance transportation.

"This year, we have developed anti-fogging packaging for waxberries, which can eliminate any trace of moisture. This extends preservation time during transportation," said Zhan Xudong who is in charge of the waxberry service division of Qingtian Zhongzhi.