Sunwu Large-fruit Sea Buckthorn

Sunwu Large-fruit Sea Buckthorn

Sunwu Large-fruit Sea Buckthorn is a protected geographical indication product.

　　Sunwu Large-fruit Sea Buckthorn, named after its origin in Sunwu County, Heilongjiang Province, is a China National Geographic Indication product. It is the product of Russian large-fruit sea buckthorn cultivated under the suitable climatic conditions and standardized farming practices of Sunwu County, boasting excellent quality with diverse varieties, good taste, large fruit size, high yield, and rapid growth.

　　Sunwu County is situated at the northern foot of the Lesser Khingan Mountains and in the central part of Heihe City, spanning from 48°50′ to 49°50′ north latitude. Located in the northeastern border area of Heilongjiang Province, it has a cold temperate continental monsoon climate, characterized by long, harsh winters, windy springs, mild and rainy summers, early cooling in autumn, and frequent threats from early frosts. The annual average temperature is -0.6°C, with an average sunshine duration of 2,551.5 hours, average rainfall of 400–650 mm, an average snowfall period of 215 days, and it spans three accumulated temperature zones (fourth, fifth, and sixth). The frost-free period lasts 90–120 days, with annual effective accumulated temperatures ranging between 1,571.1°C and 2,117.4°C, and an average of 103.1 days per year with winds of force five or higher. The long daylight hours and significant diurnal temperature variations throughout the year allow the sea buckthorn fruits to store more nutrients, earning Sunwu the reputation as the golden belt for large-fruit sea buckthorn cultivation.

　　Production Situation

　　The Sunwu Large-fruit Sea Buckthorn industry began in the early 21st century. In 2003, Sunwu County established the “Sea Buckthorn-Based County Development” strategy. Successive county Party committees and governments have unwaveringly pursued an industrial development path of “building sea buckthorn bases, revitalizing the sea buckthorn industry, protecting the local ecology, and boosting the local economy.” After years of unremitting efforts, by 2010, sea buckthorn planting had expanded across both urban and rural areas, with accelerated progress in ecological protection and industrial R&D, and the industry entered a virtuous cycle of development. In implementing the “Sea Buckthorn-Based County Development” strategy, and in view of the long production cycle of the sea buckthorn industry, Sunwu County adopted a development approach of “overall planning, phased development, simultaneous research, construction, and growth, gradually expanding the base, refining processing, deepening scientific research, extending the industrial chain, and achieving integration of planting, production, research, and sales.” The county Party committee and government issued over 20 management mechanisms including the “Interim Management Measures for Cultivating Large-fruit Sea Buckthorn in Sunwu County” and the “Opinions on Further Accelerating the Development of the Large-fruit Sea Buckthorn Industry,” established a dedicated task force for large-fruit sea buckthorn and a technical service center, hired senior Russian experts in large-fruit sea buckthorn for technical guidance and professional training, increased financial and technical support, and ensured the industry developed in a standardized, regulated, and scientific direction. This led to the formation and growth of a development system encompassing four major bases: seedling breeding, planting, processing, and research.

　　In 2001, it was approved by the State Forestry Administration as a breeding base for high-quality sea buckthorn varieties in Northeast China; in 2003, the Sunwu High-quality Large-fruit Sea Buckthorn Base received a certificate for the “National Spark Program Project.” In the same year, within the “Social Forestry Engineering Project Research and Implementation” organized by the Science and Technology Department of the State Forestry Administration, the “Large-fruit Sea Buckthorn Economic Forest Model County” won first prize for phased achievements; in 2004, it received second prize for the project. The “Changle Mountain” brand large-fruit sea buckthorn juice was designated as the official beverage for the China International Forestry Industry Expo and Science & Technology Trade Fair. In the same year, the Sunwu County Large-fruit Sea Buckthorn Standardization Demonstration Zone was approved by the National Standardization Management Committee as a China Agricultural Standardization Demonstration Zone; in 2006, it was recognized as a demonstration project promotion base by the China Thousand Counties Project Office. In the same year, the sea buckthorn industry in Sunwu County was listed among the top ten forestry industry bases in the province by the Provincial Forestry Department; in 2007, sea buckthorn products were approved by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China as a China Geographical Indication Protected Product. In the same year, the China Economic Forest Association awarded Sunwu County the title of “Hometown of China’s Large-fruit Sea Buckthorn.”

　　The protection scope of the Sunwu Large-fruit Sea Buckthorn Geographical Indication Product is based on the range proposed in the “Request for Defining the Protection Area of the Sunwu Large-fruit Sea Buckthorn Geographical Indication Product” (Sun Zheng Fa [2006] No. 76) submitted by Sunwu County, Heilongjiang Province. It covers the current administrative regions of 16 towns and forest farms in Sunwu County, including Sunwu Town, Chenqing Town, Hongqi Township, Fendou Township, Qunshan Township, Yanjiang Township, Qingxi Township, Zhengyangshan Township, Xixing Township, Woniuhe Township, Chenqing Forest Farm, Dahekou Forest Farm, Qianjin Forest Farm, Yanjiang Forest Farm, Hongqi Forest Farm, and Xiangyang Forest Farm.