Industrial development propels county's economy

The people's government of Huanjiang Maonan autonomous county in Hechi has invested more than 410 million yuan ($57.88 million) in recent years to boost its industrial development and increase people's incomes.

Past monoculture economic strategies have has been transformed into the development of diversified characteristic industries in the county, such as the fruit and poultry feeding industries.

In the first half of this year, the county's fruit planting area reached 146,100 mu (9,740 hectares), with an estimated annual output value of about 200 million yuan. The cultivated area for walnuts, tea-oil trees, and sugarcane hit 171,000 mu, 95,700 mu, and 45,900 mu respectively.

A total of 125,200 pigs were sold from January to June, as well as 7,300 head of beef cattle and 666,000 poultry.

Red pomelos are one of the earliest cultivated fruit varieties in Huanjiang. To promote its development, the Huanjiang government has invested 279 million yuan and provided 3.1 million seedlings to farmers for free since 2011.

To date, the planting area for red pomelos in the county totaled 68,000 mu, which is expected to have an annual production of 200,000 metric tons and an output value of more than 1 billion yuan.

An orchardist picks red pomelos at Da'an township in Huanjiang Maonan autonomous county, Hechi, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo/Hechi Daily]

Dacai township in the county typifies multi-industry development in Huanjiang. It has now established a modern agricultural industrial system centered on edible mushrooms and fruit.

The cultivated area of oranges in the town currently exceeds 10,000 mu, boasting a yearly production of 16,500 tons and an annual output value of more than 100 million yuan.

Sericulture has also been booming in the county. The land for mulberry fields totaled 195,500 mu, with an industrial output value of about 1.2 billion yuan.

The development of diversified industries has brought the county great economic benefits. The county's GDP increased from 392.6 million yuan in the late 1980s to 5.69 billion yuan in 2018.

Its fiscal revenue grew from 7.3 million yuan in the late 1980s to 451 million yuan in 2018. The per capita disposable income of the county's rural residents in the late 1980s was less than 300 yuan, rising to 9,880 yuan in 2018.

In addition, the county has also sped up the development of its service sector in recent years to optimize its business environment.

By the end of 2018, there were 23 industrial enterprises above designated size. The county's total industrial output value in 2018 stood at 2.26 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.3 percent, while its industrial added value was 767 million yuan, with a yearly growth rate of 15.4 percent.