Jiangjin to develop selenium-related industries

Chongqing’s Jiangjin district seeks to turn its reputation for longevity into business opportunities by developing selenium-themed agricultural products, tourism and old age care, local authorities said on Wednesday.

Granted the title “Longevity County” by the Gerontological Society of China, Jiangjin has 122 centenarians, 10.7 percent of the total centenarian population in Chongqing. Jiangjin’s population is only 1.5 million, about 5 percent of Chongqing’s total 30 million.

The high selenium content in the soil is the reason for the longevity of people living in Jiangjin, experts said at a news conference.

Mo Binbin, a senior engineer for the Institute of Geochemistry Chinese Academic of Science, said research shows that the average selenium content in Jiangjin is 0.3187 mg/kg, 1.5 times the world standard of 0.2mg/kg.

A report on the distribution of selenium in Jiangjin district was also released on the conference.

“The report gave us a scientific basis to develop the selenium industry in Jiangjin,” said Wang Heqing, head of the district.

According to Wang, Jiangjin will focus on developing selenium-related business including agricultural products, tourism and old age care. A total output value of 2.5 billion yuan ($412 million) is expected in 2016 in the agricultural sector alone, he said.