Organic leeks grown in greenhouses in Laixi, Qingdao, have started supplying markets for the Spring Festival. Although the vegetable is selling at 136 yuan per kilogram, buyers from Qingdao, Yantai and Weihai still queued for purchases.

    The Dongjiashanhou Village in Laixi has grown leeks for more than 100 years because of the excellent growing conditions. To promote this traditional product, the local government has been working with Qingdao Huake Co. since last year. The leeks received national approval as organic vegetable at the end of last year.

    The key area in the leek base covers 6.66 hectares and produces about 200,000 kilograms of leeks a year. This year, more than 3 million yuan will be spent to build greenhouses covering 1,000 square meters. Growth will be controlled by computers. A new organic leek base covering 33.33 hectares is also planned this year.

    (Wang Yuanyuan, Liu Kunfeng)