Butterfly orchids ready to be exported to the US. [Photo/Hainan Daily]
Thousands of butterfly orchids from Hainan that use a growth medium were sent to Los Angeles and San Francisco in the US before New Year's Day 2019.
According to Chang Dan, chief of the Customs Animal and Plant Quarantine Department of Haikou Port, the butterfly orchid seedlings, which use a growth medium such as moss to fix their roots, passed the quarantine inspection of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, becoming the first of their kind from the island province to be exported to the US.
The US is among the world's strictest countries in terms of importing flowers. On July 8, 2016, the country released a list of companies approved for the export of butterfly orchids that use a growth medium. The list included 11 enterprises from the Chinese mainland. Hainan Goldlines Orchid Industrial Development Co Ltd became Hainan's only enterprise to pass official certification.
The company is expected to export at least one million butterfly orchid seedlings to the US in 2019. A higher-up said that Hainan's unique geographic location and natural environment offer abundant sunshine and relatively high temperatures, which are more suitable for cultivating the seedlings rather than the flowers of butterfly orchids. The new method of exporting lowered costs.
Greenhouses of Hainan Goldlines Orchid Industrial Development Co Ltd are almost entirely automated. Only two or three workers are needed to manage an area of 5,000 square meters.
Mo Chunren, deputy chief of Goldlines Investment Group, the parent company of Hainan Goldlines Orchid Industrial Development Co Ltd, said that the company's Hainan branch will build a 10 billion yuan ($1.46 billion) butterfly orchid seedling supply center to serve countries around the world. It plans to expand imports and exports to help build Hainan's pilot free trade zone and free trade port.
Customs officers inspect butterfly orchid seedlings in Hainan. [Photo/Hainan Daily]
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