Qingyang's early apple harvest has achieved record-high per-acre revenue this year. In recent weeks, early-ripening apples in the city's major orchards have matured, with fruit growers busy picking, sorting, and packaging their produce. This year, the city's early-ripening apple harvest has been abundant, with production reaching 233,000 tons, a historic high representing a 37% year-over-year increase. National buyers are competing to place orders, and 178,700 tons have already been sold, generating sales revenue of 1.252 billion yuan.
Visiting the apple orchards in Ning County, farmers' faces beam with the joy of harvest as trucks loaded with apples leave the orchards bound for destinations across the country. "This year's apple prices are 2-3 yuan per kilogram higher than last year, with per-acre revenue increasing by 5,000-7,000 yuan," said a farmer with a smile while packing apples into boxes.
According to the Municipal Fruit Industry Development Center, the strong market performance of the city's apples benefits from significantly enhanced brand influence. The city has consistently pursued a "brand-strengthening fruit" strategy, promoting the "Qingyang Apple" regional public brand, with the brand image "Qingyang Blessed Land, Heaven-Blessed Wonderful Fruit" becoming increasingly well-known. In May this year, the "Qingyang Apple" regional public brand was once again selected for the Top 100 Regional Brands (Geographical Indication) list, with a brand value reaching 7.002 billion yuan, breaking into the top 5 single-product categories for the first time. At the 10th China Apple Brand Conference in August, the "Qingyang Apple" brand value further increased to 7.052 billion yuan, ranking 11th nationally among fruit single products and 1st in Gansu Province.
Through the "brand + association + farmers" alliance model, Qingyang apples have achieved premium pricing for quality products. The Ning County Apple Industry Association has unified "varieties, standards, technology, branding, sales, and sorting," establishing an opening price of 7.4 yuan per kilogram and a wholesale price of 8.6 yuan per kilogram as new industry benchmarks, marking the first time the Qingyang apple industry has gained pricing power in the national early-ripening apple market.
This year, the Ning County Fruit Industry Development Center and Apple Industry Association conducted 32 on-site surveys and 43 market consultations, accurately predicting production conditions in Shaanxi, Shanxi, and other regions affected by high temperatures, as well as quality decline in early-ripening apples from Yunnan mountain areas due to hail damage. They promptly invited national buyers to converge on Ning County's dwarf dense-planting apple production areas. Through multi-party coordination, they achieved precision management from technical standards to sales channels, stabilizing premium fruit prices at 8.6-9.8 yuan per kilogram.
The farmer-linking cooperation mechanism allows fruit growers to share in the dividends of industrial development. The Ning County Apple Industry Association, led by major enterprises including Ning County Huizeyuan, Zhengyang, Jinnong, and Qingxin, has integrated 102 member units to drive over 300 fruit farmers into an industrial alliance, achieving win-win cooperation. Additionally, they have constructed a "1+N" three-dimensional communication matrix. Currently, 12 short videos centered on the "Qingyang Apple" brand image and focusing on "Apple Queen Li Ying" have achieved 1.832 million total views across all platforms.