Daxian Ramie

Daxian Ramie

Daxian ramie is a protected geographical indication product.

　　Daxian ramie is a specialty of Daxian County in Sichuan Province. The ramie produced in this region features uniform color, glossy appearance, soft texture, minimal flaws, and short rust spots, making it highly marketable.

　　Production Situation

　　　　Daxian is one of China’s first national-level ramie production bases and is known as the “Ramie Capital of China.” To fully leverage the advantages of the ramie industry... [Figure 2: Daxian Ramie Plantation Base]

　　To capitalize on its industrial strengths, Daxian applied to the National Standardization Management Committee in 2006 to establish a National Ramie Standardization Demonstration Zone. Three mother plant nurseries larger than 1,000 mu were established, along with five standardized ramie production demonstration towns. By 2009, the demonstration planting area reached 18,000 hectares, with an annual total output of 48,600 tons, a total output value of 437.4 million yuan, and per capita ramie income among demonstration households of 729 yuan. The county had essentially formed a circular hundred-li ramie industrial belt spanning the Guancun, Dushi, Heshi, and Zhaojia areas.

　　In 2010, the county’s ramie planting area was 16,005 hectares, with a total output of 26,411 tons. Six ramie base towns—Baijie, Majia, Zhaojia, Beigao, Shuangmiao, and Caoxing—implemented a ramie variety improvement project using special funds from the Sichuan Provincial Department of Finance’s High-Quality, High-Yield Ramie Industrialization Base Construction Project. [Figure 3: Daxian Farmers Stripping Ramie] A total of 16,712.17 mu of ramie varieties were improved. Poor-quality ramie fields totaling 16,800 mu were uprooted, and 4,500 mu were intercropped with vegetables. In Shifo Temple Village, Beigao Township, a science and technology demonstration initiative for ramie was carried out, completing high-yield demonstration planting and integrated supporting technologies on over 300 mu with a fund of 200,000 yuan, as well as winter management on 150 mu and variety improvement on another 150 mu. On June 3, a field demonstration meeting on mechanical decortication of ramie was held in Kuiziyang Village, Baijie Town, attended by over 150 participants. Twelve mechanical decorticators and 140 sets of the Linnong brand hand-operated decorticators were promoted, boosting the development of the ramie industry. In terms of product processing, Daxian relies on Zhipeng Hemp Textile Factory as the leading enterprise to refine raw ramie, increasing its added value. From January to July 2005, over 3,000 tons of raw ramie were processed, achieving an industrial output value of 140 million yuan, sales revenue of 123 million yuan, foreign exchange earnings of 1.3554 million USD, and tax revenue of 2.1942 million yuan. Products were exported to Europe, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

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　　Biological Characteristics

　　　　Ramie is a crop unique to China primarily used for textiles. It is considered a national treasure, with China producing over 90% of the world’s ramie, internationally known as “China Grass.” Ramie belongs to the Boehmeria genus of the Urticaceae family and is a perennial herbaceous plant with a lifespan of up to 10–30 years.

　　Main Uses

　　　　Dried ramie leaves contain 20.5–23.8% crude protein and abundant vitamins, making them excellent livestock feed. [Figure 4: Ramie Fiber Products]

　　Ramie roots can be used medicinally for their hemostatic, stasis-resolving, detoxifying, and fetus-calming properties. The outer skin of the ramie stalk can be processed into fibers suitable for textile production. These fibers have a grooved hollow core, porous walls, and are fine, long, tough, lightweight, quick to absorb and release moisture, thus offering about three times the breathability of cotton. Additionally, ramie fibers contain elements such as putrescine, pyrimidine, and purine, which inhibit various bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli to varying degrees. This gives ramie antibacterial, antiseptic, and anti-mold properties, making it suitable for producing health and hygiene textiles. Therefore, ramie fiber offers excellent wearability and is recognized as the “King of Natural Fibers.” Ramie fabric is rugged, crisp, elegant, lightweight, cool, breathable, and antibacterial—qualities unmatched by other fibers. When blended or woven with cotton, silk, wool, or synthetic fibers, it compensates for the shortcomings of those materials, achieving optimal textile performance.

　　The protected geographical indication area for Daxian ramie is defined by the scope proposed in the “Letter on the Explanation of the Protected Geographical Indication Area for ‘Daxian Ramie’” (Dafu Letter [2006] No. 52) issued by Daxian County, Sichuan Province, covering the entire current administrative region of Daxian County.