In December 2011, Yueqing Wanle Fruit Cooperative was formally registered with a capital of 2.8 million yuan (USD 408,657). There are 103 members of the Cooperative and a core planting base of 550 mu. The brand is mainly “Wanguoqing (Chinese name: 万果清)” series and the products are seedless Ougan, sweet tangelo, red pomelo, Hongmeiren, and other excellent citrus varieties. After several years of development, the Cooperative has become an agricultural industrialization professional cooperative integrating citrus planting, processing, sales, the export of goods, and research and development.
Since 2017, Wang Tongzhou, director-general of the Cooperative, has been a member of the “Gather Strength to Strengthen the Cooperative” supported by the MTCP2 Program. He has received business guidance and training from the Farmers’ Cooperative Development Center, and his ability to run the Cooperative and his business philosophy has significantly improved.
To spend more effort in cultivating high-quality products. Among the varieties cultivated by the Cooperative is the seedless Ougan, a famous local traditional citrus variety which is an important specialty of Wenzhou and has a long history of cultivation. On the basis of inheriting the traditional cultivation of Ougan, the Cooperative actively cooperates with scientific research and technology promotion departments such as Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Yueqing City Special Products Station, and Yueqing City Fruit Industry Association to carry out research and application of advanced fruit technology, and plant in strict accordance with the methods and standards of organic products. In April 2016, the “Wanguo qing” brand of seedless Ougan, registered by the Cooperative, won the first prize of quality evaluation at Wenzhou City and thus has gained considerable fame.
To give more thought on innovating marketing methods. Since 2016, the Cooperative has built 22 residential houses through crowdfunding. According to the plan, the investment of a residential house is 600,000 yuan (USD 87,569) , and the funds is gained through crowdfunding. When the residential house is completed, crowd financiers can live on their own, rent such house out at other times, share their income with the Cooperative by 4:6, and set the price at 2,800 yuan/day (USD 408). At the same time, in response to the needs of some consumers, the Cooperative also launched a special “fruit tree adoption” project. Consumers can have their own citrus tree at the Cooperative’s special planting base for as low as 1500 yuan (USD 218), and in addition to their own enjoyment, the rest can be sold through the Cooperative. If these customers do not have time, they have to pay only 300 yuan (USD 43) a year, the Cooperative will arrange special person to manage the citrus tree on behalf of the customers, so that customers can also eat the assured citrus.
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