Local villagers pick luohanguo. [Photo by Shi Nongbing/chinanews.com]

Guilin, in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, devoted great efforts towards developing its Momordica grosvenori processing industry during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), turning Momordica grosvenori into a regional distinctive agricultural product.

Momordica grosvenori, also known as luohanguo, is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine plant which is believed to relieve coughs and reduce sputum.

Guilin, known as "the hometown of luohanguo", produces around 85 percent of China's annual luohanguo output. 

The output value of the whole industrial chain for luohanguo in Guilin exceeded 10 billion yuan ($1.54 billion) in 2020, making Guilin the world's largest base of luohanguo production, processing, distribution and exports. 

Each year, Guilin allocates a special fund of 10 million yuan to help new types of agricultural business entities and service entities seek opportunities, promoting the scale, standardization, brand, and industrialization development of luohanguo. 

At present, Guilin has set up 12 main luohanguo production areas such as Yongfu, Lingui and Longsheng, and each of these areas has an annual plantation area of over 100,000 mu (6,667 hectares) with an annual production of around 1 billion or 1.2 billion luohanguo.

More than 20 leading luohanguo processing companies have acquired certifications from global institutions such as the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) and British Retail Consortium (BRC), allowing their products to be exported to countries and regions such as the United States, the European Union, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia.