Jilin churns out major share of world's pine nuts

As Northeast China welcomes the pine nut harvest, Fada Food Co in Meihekou, Jilin province, has become a lot busier.

"Since late August, our employees have been going to Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces to purchase pine cones," said Xie Yu, the general manager. "We plan to purchase 500 metric tons of red pine cones."

The nuts are extracted from the cones and then dried; then they are exported to more than 40 countries and regions worldwide. The company has received a large number of orders as it enters peak season, Xie said.

Nearly 70 percent of the world's raw nuts flow through Meihekou, and the city is the largest distribution center globally.

"There are 303 pine nut processing enterprises in Meihekou that produce about 50,000 tons of nut products annually — around 80 percent of the national output," said Cui Lin, deputy secretary-general of the city's Pine Nut Association. "Nearly 10,000 tons of finished nut products have been exported — 60 percent of the global market share."

It is estimated that around 80,000 tons of pine cones will be processed in Meihekou this year, she said.

In recent years, the people of Meihekou have gradually found a road to wealth by planting pine trees in the mountains surrounding Meihekou, making seed picking convenient and cost-effective.

So far, Meihekou has developed more than 14,666 hectares of red pine forests, with more than 2,333 hectares currently entering fruiting period.