Rose-scented oranges popular for Valentine's Day

Rose-scented oranges [Photo provided to China Daily]

Oranges from Chongqing with a dark-red pulp and rosy scent have become popular gifts for the upcoming Valentine's Day.

"The oranges have the fragrance of roses," said Shen Zhaomin, a researcher from the Citrus Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, adding that the peel and the pulp have a roselike color.

Shen said that the oranges are popular sellers.

Tarocco oranges, originally from Sicily, were brought to Chongqing a decade ago and have since become a main industry in the municipality's Wanzhou district in the Three Gorges area.

"We are aiming to build the largest rose-scented orange industry in the country in 2015, establishing a 200,000-mu (13,333-hectare) orange farm with an annual orange yield of 300 million kg," said Xiang Taihong, the deputy director of agriculture in Wanzhou.

Wanzhou has already established 10,000 hectares of Tarocco orange farms. The oranges have been planted on 666 hectares farm with a 20 million kg annual orange output.

Chen Guibing, a Tarocco-orange farm owner, said the oranges sold well during Valentine's Day last year.

The orange sold as high as 60 yuan ($10) per kilogram during last year's Valentine's Day.