This year, due to the nationwide drought that led to a reduction in citrus production, Quzhou's ponkan tangerines are seeing a boom in both sales and prices.

At the Jucheng tangerine professional cooperative in Gaojia town, Qujiang district, ponkan tangerines harvested from local fields were recently sorted, packed, and boxed before being inspected by Quzhou Customs and shipped to Southeast Asia.

According to Zhang Zhilin, head of the cooperative, this particular shipment of 26 containers is destined for Thailand, and this year has seen significantly more exports to Southeast Asia than in previous years.

Ponkan tangerines are boxed at the Jucheng tangerine professional cooperative in Qujiang district, Quzhou. [Photo/Tide News]

"We have already shipped around 2,000 metric tons of ponkan tangerines to the Philippines and approximately 1,300 tons to Malaysia and Indonesia. By the end of the year, we expect to export around 4,000 tons of ponkan tangerines," said Zhang.

Alongside this increase in exports, local purchase prices have also risen this year, as the quality of Quzhou's ponkan tangerines is generally better than those from other provinces like Sichuan and Hunan this year. Additionally, ponkan tangerines are easy to store, making them ideal for exporting.

While ramping up exports, the cooperative has continued to expand domestic markets in cities such as Shanghai, Dongguan in Guangdong province, and Wenzhou in Zhejiang province, supplying products to e-commerce customers.