Saniata dragon fruit wows Shandong officials

CHINA–The bulbous, red and scaly dragon fruit, locally grown in Ilocos as Saniata has reached Shandong, China with a hit as it delighted many officials and businessmen here.

In a recent visit in this country, Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee R. Marcos and her entourage brought with them samples of dragon fruits. The host officials were impressed by the astonishing distinct taste of Saniata dragon fruit.

The Saniata dragon fruit is red flesh while the popular variety of dragon fruit in China is red-skin with white flesh. Shandong Deputy Director General Zhang Zhongmin described Saniata dragon fruit as juicier and sweeter than any of the varieties of the fruit he had tasted.

Meanwhile, Vice Mayor Wang Shuhua of the Municipality of Weifang expressed interest of growing the Saniata dragon fruit in his hometown. “We have hou long guo (fire dragon fruit) locally home grown here, however its flesh is white and not as juicy as the Saniata, and I intend to bring some of this (Saniata) to my home town so I can show it to my constituents and see how we can we grow the same,” said Shusua.

During the visit, the Gov. Marcos’ party had showcased the Saniata dragon fruit as a lucrative cash crop in IlocosNorte and at the same time learned some high value cash crops in Shandong, being one of the biggest producers of agricultural crops in China. (Florante Nicolas, PGIN-Communications and Media Office)