The 2023 Malu Grape Early Maturing Varieties Exhibition and Urban Grape Industry Development Forum was recently held at the Malu Grape Theme Park in Shanghai's Jiading district. The event invited renowned grape experts and growers to taste and discuss issues related to the grape industry.
During the forum, Shan Tao, general manager of Shanghai Malu Grape Park Co Ltd, delivered a keynote speech titled "Quality Shapes Brand, Brand Creates Market" and said that the development of Malu grapes must always be focused on three key elements - variety, brand, and market.
He pointed out that growing grapes in the suburbs of Shanghai has been a masterstroke as this ensures that consumers get the freshest possible produce. He noted that even Japan's Sunlight Rose grapes, which are highly popular around the world, could not match the freshness of Malu grapes that are picked and sold on the same day.
Though Shanghai is better known as a shipping and financial hub, the city has a flourishing grape-planting industry that occupies 33,000 mu (2,200 hectares) and has an annual output value of 670 million yuan ($92.74 million), said Wang Xiumin, a senior agronomist at Shanghai Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center.
She added that the industry will need to continue improving product quality and promoting the fruit to maintain its success.
"From traditional agriculture to modern agriculture, and now to the development of urban agriculture, Malu grapes have become a shining business card of Shanghai and a model for urban agriculture," said Liu Jun, president of the Grape Society of China Association of Agricultural Science Societies. "It is only through the coordinated development of variety, brand, and market, can we promote the healthy development of Shanghai's urban grape industry."
During the event, experts also conducted a tasting session for 19 varieties of early-maturing Malu grapes.
Experts taste and evaluate early-maturing varieties of Malu grapes. [Photo/jiading.gov.cn]