A total of 20 tonnes of apples from the city of Yan'an, in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, have been exported to Italy via cold-chain logistics.

The apples, produced in Yan'an's Luochuan County, left the city on Monday and will arrive in Italy in a month's time. They are part of a contract signed between the Italian company B.F. Frutta SRL with two Chinese companies from Shaanxi and the northern province of Hebei, to export a total of 500 tonnes of Luochuan apples to Italy for 10.6 yuan (1.58 U.S. dollars) per kg.

The shipment to Italy is another breakthrough for Luochuan apples, which have already gone global, with exports to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, North America and other regions, said Ma Jitao, the deputy head of Luochuan County.

So far, Luochuan apples, which are a major apple brand in China, have been exported to more than 20 countries and regions, including Russia, Canada and Singapore.

With a planting area of about 35,333 hectares, the output of Luochuan apples hit 950,000 tonnes this year, 750,000 tonnes of which have been sold. Enditem