Fuding – White Tea

　　Recently, the tea quality traceability system in Fuding City has been upgraded from a standard garden pilot to a demonstration zone pilot. It is reported that this is the only national pilot unit for the quality traceability system of planting products in Fujian Province, and one of only four nationwide. After being upgraded to a national demonstration zone pilot, the construction of the tea quality traceability system in Fuding City will select five leading agricultural industrialization enterprises to participate in the demonstration zone pilot work, further promoting the application of traceability systems such as origin coding, product coding, input management, production records, base product testing and inspection, and packaging labels.

　　At the 2012 tea industry work conference in Fuding City, it was learned that last year the city's total tea-related output value reached 2 billion yuan for the first time, and the per capita tea income of farmers in mountainous areas reached 1,820 yuan, with white tea production also exceeding 5,000 tons for the first time.

　　It is understood that since last year, Fuding City has adhered to a market-oriented approach, focusing on quality, driven by technology, and centered on efficiency, vigorously implementing brand strategies and maintaining a good development trend in the tea industry. The total tea garden area in the city remains at 210,000 mu, with an annual tea output of 17,500 tons, an increase of 5.4%. Among them, white tea annual output is 5,100 tons, an increase of 13.3%. The annual gross tea output value reached 700 million yuan, the per capita tea income of farmers in mountainous areas reached 1,820 yuan, and the total tea-related population reached 376,000, with a total tea-related output value of 2 billion yuan. The city currently has 360 tea processing enterprises of various sizes, including 41 large-scale enterprises, 5 provincial leading enterprises, 15 municipal and regional leading enterprises, 5 enterprises with import and export rights, nearly 10,000 marketing personnel, and over 1,000 marketing outlets. It has been awarded the title of "National Key Tea Producing County" by the China Tea Circulation Association for many years. Last year, it was also honored as a "Demonstration County for Tea Industry Development in China." Eight tea enterprises including Fujian Pinpinxiang Tea Co., Ltd. were rated among the "Top 100 Enterprises in China's Tea Industry" in 2011. Tea industry tax revenue continues to grow, with three tea enterprises in the city having tax revenues exceeding one million yuan in 2011. The city has established more than 50 specialized tea cooperatives, among which the Bailiu White Tea Cooperative and Meishi Tea Cooperative were included in the "National First Batch of Model Farmer Specialized Cooperatives" list issued by the Ministry of Agriculture.

　　In recent years, Fuding City has attached great importance to the construction of the tea quality and safety system, persistently strengthening tea quality and safety supervision, and earnestly carrying out special rectification actions for agricultural product quality and safety. By promoting the construction of pollution-free tea gardens, the city controls tea quality from the source. The city has established 40,000 mu of organic tea bases and green food bases, being the earliest county in Fujian Province to implement and promote the construction of organic tea garden green food bases, and also the county with the largest promotion area in the province. It has carried out in-depth law enforcement inspections on banned pesticides. In 2011, more than 300 batches of raw tea were sampled and tested throughout the city, all meeting the standards for pollution-free tea, with a 100% pesticide residue qualification rate. In addition, the city has solidly promoted white tea process innovation and health function research. Last year, at the provincial enterprise technological innovation conference, the "Clean Compound Withering White Tea" project undertaken by Fujian Yinlong Tea Technology Co., Ltd. won the second prize of provincial scientific and technological progress. Pinpinxiang Tea Co., Ltd. developed the "Floral Fragrant White Peony Tea and Its Processing Technology," Tianhu Tea Co., Ltd. researched the "High Fragrance White Tea and De-green Maturation Technology," and Fangming Tea Co., Ltd. developed "Cordyceps White Tea," "Cordyceps Red Tea," and "New Process White Tea," all of which won national invention patents last year. Good (Fujian) Tea Co., Ltd.'s "Huanggang White Hair Tea Quality Preservation and Fragrance Retention Processing Technology" was awarded a technology innovation invention patent by the National Intellectual Property Office.

　　In Fujian's tea industry, Fuding white tea is also a representative. White tea is one of China's six major tea categories. Currently, the main production areas are in Fujian Province (with a small amount also produced in Taiwan), including Zhenghe, Fuding, Jianyang, and Songxi counties. The region is hilly with a mild climate and abundant rainfall year-round. The mountainous soil is mainly red-yellow soil, primarily growing excellent tea tree varieties such as Fuding Dabai tea, Zhenghe Dabai tea, and Jianyang Shuixian. Due to differences in fresh leaf raw materials and processing methods, white tea can be divided into five types: Baihao Yinzhen, Dabai, Bai Mudan, Gongmei, and Shoumei. The "Fuding White Tea" geographical indication trademark of Ningde City, Fujian Province, was recognized as a famous trademark in 2009, and its trademark value has increasingly manifested. By the end of 2011, the total output of "Fuding White Tea" reached 5,100 tons, with a total output value of 766 million yuan. "Tanyang Gongfu" tea is sold to more than 20 countries and regions including the United States, Japan, Russia, and the United Kingdom. By the end of 2011, Anxi County had 198 local enterprises with 1,536 series of products, obtaining the geographical indication trademark license for "Anxi Tieguanyin." In 2011, the sales revenue of licensed enterprises was nearly 6 billion yuan, and over the past 10 years, 32.2 billion trademark labels have been used on tea products.

　　Fuding is located on the northeast coast of Fujian Province and is rich in tea production, being one of the top ten tea-producing counties and cities in the country. Fuding's famous tea—Fuding white tea—has a unique production process: it is neither fried nor rolled, and fresh leaves are processed through withering and drying, preserving the original components of the tea to the greatest extent. It can be stored for 10 to 20 years without air conditioning without any problem. The older the Fuding white tea, the better the taste and the greater the health benefits. Fuding is the original production area of the national tea tree varieties Huacha No. 1 and Huacha No. 2, known for its full white hairs. Fuding enjoys the reputation of "The world's white tea is in China, and China's white tea is in Fuding." In recent years, the Fuding municipal government has encouraged the development of white tea enterprises in various ways. Chairman Lin elaborated on the health benefits and production process of aged white tea and explained the measures to encourage white tea development, such as the natural withering and non-frying, non-rolling production process of aged white tea. The city attaches great importance to the construction of the tea quality and safety system, controlling tea quality from the source. Additionally, the city has established 40,000 mu of organic tea bases and green food bases, being the earliest county in Fujian Province to implement and promote the construction of organic tea garden green food bases, and also the county with the largest promotion area in the province.

　　Under the leadership of Lin Lici, president of the Fuding Tea Association, relevant government departments have fully utilized Fuding's superior environment, excellent variety resources, government policies, and financial support to enhance the organization of the tea industry, increase the development of new white tea products, establish and improve the financing guarantee system for tea enterprises and the white tea quality standard system, and promote the steady development of tea enterprises. At the same time, Fuding has built a complete ecological and healthy standardized tea base, supporting leading enterprises to bravely explore the market. Fuding plans to invest more than 20 million yuan in modern tea industry development projects, focusing on the base and standardized construction of tea gardens. The Fuding municipal party committee and government have guided and fully implemented the "Fuding Trustworthy Tea" project, emphasizing ecological environment protection and application. Lin Lici also regards tea production as a leading project for poverty alleviation and a main channel for increasing farmers' income, wholeheartedly serving the majority of tea farmers and tea enterprises. He leads the association to work diligently for the development of Fuding's tea industry, especially the white tea industry, achieving significant results in building pollution-free tea production bases, creating the Fuding white tea brand, promoting agricultural efficiency, and increasing farmers' income. The Fuding municipal party committee and government have seized the new round of opportunities in the national tea industry development, using various promotional platforms and media to promote the Fuding white tea brand. They deeply promote Fuding white tea in domestic, European, American, and other international markets, enhancing the reputation and influence of the "Hometown of Chinese White Tea." Meanwhile, efforts are made to explore and enhance the cultural connotation of the Fuding white tea industry, seeking high added value through culture, concentrating on building public and specialty brands of Fuding white tea, establishing the brand image, and improving the recognition and reputation of Fuding white tea, achieving remarkable results.