New juice production line gives Zigui navel orange industry fresh boost

By Yan Wanqin.

Hubei Qugu International Agricultural Group launched a fully automated orange juice concentrate production line on June 19, marking a big step forward for citrus processing in Zigui County. 
 

The production line, which costs 50 million yuan (US$6.9 million), features a seamless process of soaking, washing, juicing, refining, and concentrating. The new line can handle 100,000 tons of fresh navel oranges annually, producing over 10,000 tons of high-quality concentrated juice.

Qugu International is an agricultural industrial group with citrus deep processing as its main business, while integrating agricultural product planting, processing, sales, R&D and tourism into its business scope. The company is a leading agricultural company in Yichang with an annual output of 200,000 tons of products.

In the new workshop, oranges enter a high-pressure washing area where fine water jets clean the surface before undergoing multiple rinses with purified water and being moved to a sealed area for juicing.

"The orange juice contains absolutely no preservatives or artificial coloring — it's 100 percent pure," said Zhou Qisheng, the workshop manager. "The production line uses high-temperature, short-time evaporation technology to simultaneously separate juice, pulp, and peel while preserving nutritional value through rapid concentration."

The launch addresses a critical gap in Zigui's citrus industry chain. Currently, the chain spans large-scale planting and variety development, fresh fruit sales, peel recycling, and processed products, such as orange wine and vinegar.

Qugu international has been a leader in citrus processing since 2005. With over 100 orange-based products, including orange wine, orange vinegar, navel orange zongzi, and orange cakes, the company now exports to more than 140 overseas markets, including Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United States.

Hu Xingjun, Hao Mingxi contributed to this story.