The export and trade volumes of Chinese wolfberry in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region increased by 77 percent and 99 percent respectively in 2014, according to the Ningxia Chinese Wolfberry Association on March 21. The price of Chinese wolfberry was up by over 30 percent year on year and the newly added planting area totaled 3,893 hectares last year.

The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region will encourage enterprises to develop Chinese wolfberry bases totaling 3,800 hectares this year, the director of the association said. Currently, there are some 40 Chinese wolfberry enterprises across the whole region with the planting bases totaling 10,000 hectares, he added. At the same time, Ningxia will also strengthen quality supervision and regulate the production technology to guarantee its safety, according to him.

Ningxia will also enhance functions of Zhongning International Chinese Wolfberry Trading Center and promote the distinctive product in various exhibitions this year. By 2020, the planting area of Chinese wolfberry is expected to reach 66,667 hectares with a total output of over 180,000 tons. The processing and export rates are expected to reach 25 percent and 10 percent with the total output value totaling 20 billion yuan then, he said.