Festival and conference held to promote persimmon industry growth

The 2025 Fuping Persimmon Festival and the 3rd Fuping Tianxi Persimmon Industry Alliance Conference, themed “developing new quality productive forces in agriculture according to local conditions”, kicked off on October 26 in Tianxi Persimmon Town, Fuping county, Shaanxi province, Northwest China.

More than 200 persimmon industry experts, distributors, and members of the Fuping Tianxi Persimmon Industry Alliance from across the country attended the event to discuss the modernization and development of China’s persimmon industry.

In the opening speech, Professor Wang Yi of the College of Horticulture at China Agricultural University highlighted the cooperation with Shaanxi Fuping Dafang Tianxi Green Agriculture Development Co Ltd (Tianxi Agriculture) and commended the company for transforming the industry through technological innovation.

Yang stated that Tianxi Agriculture has unlocked the potential of traditional farming through technological innovation, evolving from scattered, small-scale planting and processing by farmers in 2018 to today’s standardized, full-industry-chain clusters, truly realizing the goal of “writing papers on the land of our motherland”.

Yang noted that the transformation of Fuping persimmons exemplifies “research rooted in the fields and technology serving the industry”. Seven years of practice at Tianxi Agriculture have shown that new quality productive forces in agriculture are not just a laboratory theory, but a practical achievement that boosts farmers’ incomes and industry efficiency.

Luo Zhengrong, honorary chairman of the Persimmon Branch of the Chinese Society for Horticultural Science and a professor at Huazhong Agricultural University, said that with strong support from the county government, Tianxi Agriculture has hosted the International Persimmon Academic Seminar and helped establish the China Persimmon Industry Alliance. These efforts have elevated Fuping persimmons from a local specialty to an internationally recognized brand and setting an example for the industry.

Wang Fangsheng, the chairman of Tianxi Agriculture, stated that since establishing operations in Fuping in 2018, the company has collaborated with China Agricultural University, Northwest A&F University, and Huazhong Agricultural University to innovate persimmon germplasm. Through space breeding, biological breeding, and the introduction of new varieties, Tianxi Agriculture has advanced seed development, explored scientific cultivation techniques, addressed the problem of alternate bearing in persimmons, and enhanced the expression of superior Fuping persimmon genes.

At the meeting, the industry alliance honored members who excelled in the 2024 production season with the “Excellence” and “Progress” awards. These awards not only celebrate individual achievements but also highlight the overall growth and vitality of the alliance.

At the event, Tianxi Agriculture secured deep cooperation with leading national retailers such as China Resources Supermarket, Dingdong Maicai, Pagoda (Baiguoyuan), and Pangdonglai, further expanding its presence in the high-end market and boosting the value of Fuping persimmon cakes.

Liang Zhiguo, deputy general manager of Tianxi Agriculture, led alliance members in reading the “Fuping Tianxi Persimmon Industry Alliance Proposal”, urging the industry to uphold self-discipline, advance standardization, and foster a collaborative and sustainable ecosystem.

In the second stage of the conference, Guan Changfei, vice dean of the College of Horticulture at Northwest A&F University, shared the team’s breakthroughs in preventing and controlling persimmon tree diseases, providing solid theoretical support for Fuping persimmon germplasm innovation.

Over the past seven years, Tianxi Agriculture has invested 350 million yuan ($49.29 million) to build a world-class persimmon industry park in Fuping, boosting the local persimmon output value from under 1 billion to 10 billion yuan. The regional brand value of Fuping Persimmon Cake reached 3.45 billion yuan, while “Persimmon Red（柿柿红）” led the industry with a brand value of 153 million yuan.