Weiyuan Lemons

Weiyuan Lemons

　　Weiyuan County is a national commercial lemon production base, with 1.3 million lemon trees covering 1,543 hectares. By 2003, the planting scale will reach 2.8 million trees on 3,340 hectares, with an annual output of over 70,000 tons during peak production. The main variety grown in Weiyuan — Eureka — has an average fruit weight of about 150 grams, with fruit containing 0.4–0.5% aromatic oil, making it an excellent raw material for producing food, daily-use flavors, and fragrant rice; the juice extraction rate is around 38%, suitable for making beverages and brewing; the peel can be used to make candied fruit and jam, and the pectin extracted from the peel (4–5%) can be used in food and medicine; lemon seeds are rich in fat and vitamin E, with the oil being edible and the leftover pulp usable as animal feed. Weiyuan lemons were awarded the title of "Famous and High-Quality Fruit" in Sichuan Province in 1999.

　　Source: Weiyuan County People's Government Website