"Yield of 5,500 jin per mu, and quality meets standards!" On the morning of February 25, the fresh sweet potato–autumn potato rotation demonstration base in Qilin Miao Ethnic Township, Xingwen County, Yibin City, announced its yield assessment results. Luo Xingqiong, the base manager, beamed with joy upon hearing the news. In October last year, the base completed its registration for supplying vegetables to Hong Kong, and this batch of qualified potatoes will be exported to Hong Kong. By the end of 2025, Yibin will have 58 registered vegetable bases approved for supplying Hong Kong, covering a total area of 32,600 mu, accounting for more than 75% of the province's total.

Demonstration Base for Rotational Cultivation of Fresh Sweet Potatoes and Autumn Potatoes

Why have Yibin's vegetables successfully entered the Hong Kong market? Reporters found the answer at the yield assessment site. Beside the field ridges, Hu Jianjun, a researcher at the Crop Research Institute of Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, picked up a freshly dug potato and showed its smooth skin and absence of disease spots: "The quality is good—no pesticide residues or heavy metals detected." He explained to growers that this success stems from high-quality varieties and eco-friendly cultivation practices.

Luo Xingqiong added that the base strictly follows the "Standard Operating Procedures for Vegetables Supplied to Hong Kong" throughout the entire process—from seed selection and fertilization to pest and disease control—and maintains rigorous documentation and monitoring. "We essentially stop using agrochemicals one month before harvest to ensure safety." she said.

Yibin Vegetable Express Train to Hong Kong

Yibin's first vegetable base registered for supplying Hong Kong was established in 2016, but for years, small-scale farmers independently engaged with the market, resulting in inconsistent standards and limited scalability. In recent years, the municipal government has taken the lead in signing supply contracts with enterprises such as Hong Kong-based Henghui International, with operations coordinated by the Yibin Agricultural Development Group to accelerate the formation of an integrated vegetable supply cluster for the Hong Kong market.

The group has established a collaborative model involving "state-owned enterprises + large-scale growers + village collectives + agribusinesses", implementing a standardized production system locally. The entire process is supervised by the provincial and municipal academies of agricultural sciences, with additional technical and varietal support provided by the Southwest R&D Center of the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The group guarantees purchase of all output at a minimum price, alleviating farmers' concerns about market risks. To date, the group has signed contracts with over 12,000 mu of registered bases. "Just yesterday, another base in Shahe Town, Gao County, passed the registration review." revealed Yue Mingzhong, a staff member of the group’s Primary Industry Department, at the yield assessment site.

To ensure vegetables arrive fresh in Hong Kong, Yibin has established a seamless "end-to-end supply chain" from farm to market: after harvest, produce is pre-cooled and loaded onto refrigerated trucks, reaching Hong Kong in as little as 22 hours. During the Spring Festival holiday, the group coordinated shipments exceeding 700 metric tons, including varieties such as Zhongshu Kuai Cai and pea shoots.

Yue Mingzhong stated that the next step will be to align production with sales data from the Greater Bay Area and Hong Kong markets to expand the reach of Yibin vegetables. Hu Jianjun recommended enhancing deep soil tillage and improving water and nutrient management during mid- to late-stage growth to reduce greening at the potato tips, thereby enhancing appearance and enabling more precise, high-quality cultivation.

【本文部分内容由AI辅助生成，特此声明。The author(s) generated part of the content in this work with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), which is hereby declared.】