Arabfields, Newsroom, Oran — In the heart of Shaanxi Province, northwest China, the kiwifruit industry is experiencing a technological renaissance. Once reliant on traditional farming methods, the sector is now embracing smart agriculture to boost efficiency, quality, and global competitiveness. Zhouzhi County, recognized as the birthplace of kiwifruit, is at the forefront of this transformation, integrating advanced technologies like AI, IoT, and precision sorting to upgrade production from orchard to export.
China is the world’s largest producer of kiwifruit, with Shaanxi accounting for a significant portion of output. The province’s northern Qinling Mountains provide ideal ecological conditions, but challenges such as inconsistent quality, resource inefficiency, and short shelf life have historically limited growth. Enter smart agriculture: a suite of innovations designed to address these issues through data-driven decision-making and automation. In Zhouzhi, the recently inaugurated Kiwifruit Integrated Development Demonstration Center exemplifies this shift, featuring a fully connected industrial chain that spans variety development, standardized planting, intelligent sorting, smart cold-chain logistics, and brand building.
At the core of these advancements is cutting-edge sorting technology. The center’s six-lane high-speed line, supplied by Norwegian company TOMRA, captures 240 images of each kiwifruit from all angles to detect surface defects. Near-infrared scanners delve deeper, assessing internal qualities like sweetness, firmness, and dry matter content. Each box of fruit receives a unique code, enabling full traceability from the farm to the consumer, a critical feature for building trust in international markets.
Complementing this is an intelligent cold storage facility with a 20,000-tonne capacity. Advanced refrigeration systems maintain temperature fluctuations within ±0.5°C, significantly reducing dehydration and allowing for year-round supply of “ready-to-eat” kiwifruit. This innovation not only extends market windows but also minimizes post-harvest losses, a common pain point in traditional agriculture.
Beyond processing, on-farm innovations are equally transformative. In Meixian County, Shaanxi Qifeng Fruit Industry Co., Ltd. has partnered with Northwest A&F University (NWAFU) to deploy a digital cultivation system. This integrates IoT sensors for real-time monitoring of meteorological data, soil conditions, operational metrics, and crop growth. AI models analyze the data to optimize decisions, forming a “monitoring-decision-execution” loop. The results are impressive: water usage has dropped by 30%, fertilizer by 25%, pesticides by 35%, and yields have increased by about 10% per mu (a traditional Chinese unit of land area, roughly 0.067 hectares).
Variety improvement is another pillar of this upgrade. The Zhouzhi Agricultural Science and Technology Experiment Station, established in 1956, maintains a kiwifruit germplasm repository to breed resilient strains. The ‘Cui Xiang’ variety, known for its size, quality, disease resistance, drought tolerance, and sweetness, now covers over 150,000 mu in Shaanxi and 300,000 mu nationwide. The station promotes 16 standardized practices, including formula fertilization, regulated fruit setting, and biological pest control, through demonstration bases.
International collaboration amplifies these efforts. The China-New Zealand Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Kiwifruit, set up in Zhouzhi in 2023, focuses on breeding for canker resistance and low-temperature adaptability. Meanwhile, an NWAFU expert workstation led by Professor Huang Lili has developed post-harvest technologies that extend shelf life from 15 to 30 days, enhancing market competitiveness.
Zhouzhi’s broader strategy includes nine “enhancement projects” targeting variety improvement, standardized cultivation, deep processing, brand development, technological innovation, cold-chain logistics, and digital agriculture. As Wen Qiwei, Party secretary of Zhouzhi County, notes, these initiatives are propelling the industry toward modernization.
The economic impacts are already evident. At the third China Kiwifruit Expo held in Meixian from September 19 to 21, 2025, over 200 booths showcased new technologies and products, leading to sales agreements for 41,900 tonnes of kiwifruit worth more than 410 million yuan (approximately $57.6 million). Companies like Shaanxi Qifeng Fruit have expanded globally, exporting to 32 countries including Canada, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Chile, and Thailand. They’ve even established a planting base in Chile to ensure year-round supply.
Sustainability is a key beneficiary. By reducing resource inputs and minimizing waste, these smart practices align with China’s push for green agriculture. The “three-level dividend” model in Meixian, where profits are shared among village collectives and operators, ensures that technological gains translate into rural prosperity.
As He Liandi, director of Xi’an Urban Green Agricultural Technology Development Co., Ltd., puts it, digital platforms are shifting mindsets from traditional farming to modern industrial operations. With ongoing investments and international partnerships, China’s kiwifruit industry is not just upgrading, it’s setting a global standard for smart agriculture innovation.
