A batch of fresh Chinese toon shoots grown in Qingtian county, Lishui, East China's Zhejiang province were exported to Japan for the first time on March 28.

Joining the waxberry, brown sugar, and Qianxia Lake's fish head, the Chinese toon shoot has become yet another agricultural product from Qingtian county to be exported overseas.

In spring, Chinese toon shoots are one of the most popular vegetables in China. According to traditional Chinese medicine experts, buds, shoots, and young leaves of the Chinese toon, also Toona sinensis, are warm and detoxifying, and thus are a nutritional, healthy gourmet vegetable.

In spring, freshly harvested Chinese toon shoots are one of the most popular vegetables in China. [Photo/Tide News]

At the Qingtian Agricultural Products City in Qingtian county, workers from Lishui Jitao Ecological Agriculture Development Co were busy packing freshly harvested Chinese toon shoots.

With over 100,000-square-meter Chinese toon, the company exported 100 kilograms of Chinese toon shoots to Japan this time.

"After about a year of negotiations with Japanese clients, we finalized the export arrangements, and the Chinese toon shoots can be transported to Japan by plane within about three hours," said Jin Suhong, head of the company.

In recent years, Lishui has used the Qingtian Agricultural Products City as an export platform. As a result, enterprises exported 620 types of agricultural products to 18 countries and regions in 2024, achieving exports of 130 million yuan ($17.89 million).