On Dec 20, 2019, an annual forum centering on “Full Industry Chain” of citrus is held in Yichang. Professor Pan Siyifrom Huazhong Agricultural University，who is also the director of the National Citrus Modern Industrial Technology System Post-harvest Technology and Processing Research Laboratory, and Liu Jihong, the chief expert of the provincial citrus industry, delivered keynote speeches entitled “Current Situation and Development Trend of Citrus Deep Processing and Comprehensive Utilization” and “the Development and Thinking of Citrus Industry in Hubei Province”respectively. Zhou Dainian, director of ZhijiangJuyuan Citrus Professional Cooperative, and Fu Caixia, director of Hubei Tulaohan Ecological Agriculture Group Technology Center, shared theirexperiences on citrus seedling breeding and supervision, standardized production, innovative marketing concepts, and intensive processingat theforum.

　　In recent years, Yichang Cityhas made remarkable achievementsin accelerating the construction of the full industrial chain from citrus cultivation to intensive processing. The citrus seed breeding system has been gradually improved, withan annual capacity of 2 million high-quality virus-free seedlings and 5 million branches of good scions. The marketingperiod of fresh fruits is from September to June in the following year. And the city has become the only distinctive and advantageous producing area in the country that is able to supply fresh citrus all year round. At present, there are nearly 1 million mu (about 164,737 acres)of citrus standard orchard, which will be expanded at a rate of noless than 80,000 mu (about 13,179 acres)each year. Eight different types of citrus have already been entitledwith geographical indication protection, which are exported to more than 10 countries, including Russia and Kazakhstan. Now Yichang is the largest nationalprocessing base of canned orange petals. It is estimated that by 2020, fresh and canned citrus exports will reach 400,000 tons, and the full industrial chain will continue to develop. (Reporter JieXingwei and correspondent Wang Jiao)