A'ba Apples

A'ba Apples

　　A'ba apples mainly refer to apple products from Maoxian. They are of superior quality, with bright red color, and are regarded as a symbol of good fortune. A'ba apples

　　A'ba apples are mellow, sweet, delicate, and fragrant, with the Golden Crown Red Heart and Red Crown varieties being the best.-

　　 Industrial Development

　　　　The Maoxian apples along the Zhaigou area once boasted a “kingly status”—from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, they became the “flagship” industry that helped farmers in A'ba Prefecture increase their income and achieve prosperity. However, in the late 1990s, with the large-scale influx of Shandong apples into Sichuan, “Maoxian” apples suffered one retreat and defeat after another, leading frustrated fruit farmers to repeatedly take axes to their apple trees... Yet, when the fruit and vegetable processing company—Baoqing Company—entered A'ba Prefecture, the apple industry saw a revival like a withered tree in spring. Nowadays, apples in A'ba Prefecture aren’t struggling to find buyers but are in short supply; not only have the prices of fresh apples risen, but even substandard and fallen fruits can be turned into cash.

　　The apple industry in A'ba Prefecture has gone through more than twenty years of development, with prices once reaching as high as 1.6 yuan per kilogram. However, in recent years, the industry has gradually declined, especially in the past five years when falling prices led farmers to no longer be willing to tend their apple orchards.

　　To help fruit farmers overcome the dilemma of increased production without increased income, A'ba Prefecture introduced Baoqing Fruit Industry Co., Ltd. in March 2006 to engage in concentrated apple juice production. Through the company’s leadership and drive, this year the price of fresh apples in A'ba Prefecture rose by 0.4 yuan per kilogram compared to last year, and previously valueless substandard fruits, fallen fruits, and thinned fruits were purchased by the company at 0.46 yuan per kilogram for processing. This approach has not only promoted an increase in the price of fresh apples but also ensured a minimum income for fruit farmers. Farmers say: Baoqing Company has become an “insurance company.”