The olives planted in Longnan City, Gansu Province [File Photo]

Longnan City in Gansu Province is set to establish China Olive Industry Innovation Strategic League to boost olive industry, according to a press conference held in Beijing on July 27.

A launch ceremony, an olive industry expo and the Agriculture Featured Industry Poverty Alleviation International Forum will be held in the city from August 1 to 2.

The league incorporates over 60 olive research institutions, enterprises engaged in planting, processing and sales of olive as well as related government departments so as to propel innovation, research and development of olive production.

Yang Yongkun, vice mayor of Longnan City, said the weather and soil conditions in Longnan are similar to Mediterranean olive production areas and thus very favorable for olive growing.

To date, the olive planting area in Longnan has totaled 36,440 hectares since it started in 1975 and its output value in 2015 reached 1.19 billion yuan (US$177 million), he said.

The development of the olive industry is conductive to the targeted approach to alleviating poverty, Yang noted. The olive industry has helped decrease the poverty population from 34,400 in 2012 to 18,910 in 2015, and per capita net income in olive production area has increased to 4,013 yuan in 2015, up by 17 percent year on year.

As part of the activities of the first Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo, the event will greatly promote the development of China’s olive industry, he concluded.

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