Wushan Konjac

Wushan Konjac

Wushan konjac is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　    Wushan konjac has a long history of cultivation. The<<巫山县志>*Wushan County Annals* compiled during the Qing Dynasty’s Guangxu era recorded: “The roots and leaves of konjac are both blackish in color. The root is solid and can be as large as a bowl or as small as a cup. When the juice is mixed with lime, it turns into a tofu-like product, which locals commonly use in their cuisine.” As the applications of konjac have continued to expand in modern times, the demand for konjac has been on the rise. Wushan konjac has shifted from being a self-consumed crop by local farmers to an export commodity that generates foreign exchange. Production has also transitioned from scattered, small-scale planting around homes to large-scale, commercialized cultivation. After more than ten years of development, the perennial planting area of Wushan konjac has stabilized at over 15,000 mu, yielding more than 10,000 metric tons of fresh konjac and 1,200 metric tons of konjac chips annually. Not only does Wushan konjac boast a large planting area and high yield, but its quality is also excellent. In 1987, a delegation of Japanese konjac experts visited the Luoping konjac base in Wushan for inspection and found that the quality of Wushan konjac was superior to that of konjac from Gunma Prefecture, Japan’s main konjac-producing region. As a result, Wushan konjac earned the prestigious reputation of being exempt from inspection for export to Japan. In recent years, while the domestic konjac market has fluctuated, Wushan konjac has maintained consistent strong sales and continues to enjoy annual exemption from inspection for export to Japan. Additionally, the county has developed a konjac flour processing project.