In Luoding, what has been fragrant for a hundred years and has captivated overseas markets?
Cinnamon must be one of the answers. As one of Luoding’s most renowned geographical indication products, it embodies the collective memory of Luoding, with its lush green and brown hues encapsulating the essence of the local land and cultural history.
The understated Luoding can be said to have made people “addicted” to cinnamon—this region’s cinnamon is known for its high quality and is popular both domestically and internationally. In recent years, Luoding City has vigorously developed the cinnamon industry to promote rural revitalization, with the story “The world’s cinnamon looks to China, and China’s cinnamon looks to Luoding” aiming to reach a wider audience.
Natural Treasures, Abundant Wealth
Cinnamon, a native Eastern spice, has a long history of use in China.It is frequently mentioned in the Chuci for its unique fragrance.According to the Shuowen Jiezi, all parts of the cinnamon tree—bark, branches, leaves, flowers, fruits, and roots—have medicinal value, hence it is known as the “leader of a hundred medicines,” with cinnamon being a precious variety that has effects such as warming the body, aiding yang, guiding fire back to its source, dispelling cold, alleviating pain, and warming the meridians.In the regions of Guangdong and Guangxi, where cinnamon is widely cultivated, Luoding cinnamon stands out, with its fragrance having been passed down for centuries.
Geographically, cinnamon thrives in humid, warm conditions and prefers acidic soil, and Luoding, with its subtropical monsoon climate, red soil, and ample rainfall, has the perfect “timing and location” for cinnamon cultivation.Historically, cinnamon cultivation in Luoding began as early as the Qin and Han dynasties. During the Kangxi era, the Luoding Prefectural Gazetteer mentioned “cinnamon,” ranking it fourth among 14 local timber specialties; by 1850, large-scale cultivation had begun.Culturally, the character for cinnamon (桂, guì) sounds the same as the character for wealth (贵, guì), and many Luoding residents plant one or two cinnamon trees or select fresh cinnamon branches and leaves to offer during auspicious events such as moving into a new home, weddings, childbirth, and birthdays, praying for wealth and good fortune.
The branches are stripped, marked, and sectioned, the bark is carefully peeled, and the wet cinnamon bark is removed using a specially designed horn board.With a rich historical background, Luoding cinnamon is renowned for its thick flesh, pure flavor, high quality, and dual use in both medicinal and culinary applications, with a cinnamon aldehyde content as high as 90% and an ash content below 2.5%. When processed into spices, it exhibits a smooth texture, earning it the title of the finest cinnamon.Clearly, Luoding cinnamon is a rare high-quality variety within the “cinnamon family.” A local poet has written: “Natural treasures bring wealth, with golden mountains and jade planted in rows. To seek fortune in Tanbin, one must ascend the stage with quick steps.”The poetic imagery describes Tanbin Town, the main production area of Luoding cinnamon. Upon reaching the Cinnamon Viewing Platform, one can see vast expanses of cinnamon forests, with their rich and intense sweet aroma uplifting the spirit.Statistics show that Luoding City has over 500,000 acres of cinnamon cultivation, primarily concentrated in seven towns: Tanbin, Silun, Fucheng, Lishao, Lianzhou, Jiayi, and Longwan, with Tanbin alone accounting for 140,000 acres. The annual production of cinnamon bark in the city reaches 30,000 tons, and cinnamon oil production reaches 1,500 tons, with an annual output value exceeding 1.3 billion yuan.From the data, it is evident that cinnamon has become a vital industry for local prosperity, with the small cinnamon tree unleashing tremendous potential. Luoding residents also cherish this natural gift, having successively won national honors such as “China Geographical Indication Protected Product,” “China Climate Ecological Excellent Product,” and “China Authentic Medicinal Material,” as well as provincial honors like “Ten Treasures of Guangdong” and “Famous Southern Medicines of Guangdong.”
Cinnamon powder combined with coffee. Image provided by Guangdong Cinnamon Agricultural Technology Development Co., Ltd.
Diverse Development, “Seventy-Two Transformations”
In the summer of August, after visiting the Cinnamon Trading Expo Center and the cinnamon-themed park, and walking through various cinnamon processing factories, one can see rows of straight cinnamon trees along the highway, with neatly stacked bundles of cinnamon bark in the factories, filling the air with a rich fragrance.Indeed, Luoding is the world of cinnamon.Cinnamon, with its entire being being valuable, is vividly exemplified in Luoding. Whether in food, household items, or skincare products, cinnamon can be found everywhere—the bark stripped from the trunk, known as “cinnamon bark,” is either used directly as medicinal material and seasoning or processed into powder for pastries, ice cream, and even beverages. The stripped trunks, referred to as “cinnamon wood,” are often used as hot pot base ingredients or seasoning for marinating meat, while the small twigs, known as “cinnamon twigs,” have a milder aroma and are commonly used for tea, as well as in cosmetics and sachets for fragrance.It can be said that Luoding has made the cinnamon industry flourish. According to incomplete statistics, Luoding has deeply explored cinnamon resources and launched 137 products. In addition to the well-known cinnamon bark, cinnamon oil, and sachets, there are also innovative products like cinnamon wood furniture, cooling mats, chopsticks, and cinnamon health pillows.Even the “soul” of Coca-Cola is related to cinnamon. Coca-Cola’s intermediaries come to Luoding every year to purchase benzaldehyde extracted from local cinnamon.
Currently, cinnamon and its derivative products have achieved initial coverage in the fields of medicine, food, cosmetics, health products, and daily necessities, and have made phased achievements in exploring a development model integrating “production, learning, research, medicine, planting, and tourism” for southern medicines.Today, the entire cinnamon industry chain is gradually taking shape in Luoding, with the production of cinnamon bark and oil accounting for more than half of the national total, contributing over 20% to the national export sales rate of cinnamon oil and bark, and being exported to regions such as India, Pakistan, and the Middle East, highly favored by foreign buyers.Now, the medicinal value of cinnamon has been widely recognized in the industry, and its derivative products are becoming increasingly diverse, with a broad market prospect. The diversification of products has expanded the industry chain, making cinnamon even more “valuable,” with the global cinnamon industry market value reaching 6 billion yuan.Luoding is a blessed land with abundant spiritual energy, and its fragrance wafts far and wide, enriching the farmers. On the path of product diversification, the wealth-generating power of cinnamon is becoming evident.With the expansion of the “company + professional cooperatives + farmers” model, the planting area of Luoding cinnamon has been increasing year by year, and many enterprises have obtained the right to use the geographical indication product logo “Luoding Cinnamon” by improving product quality, making the profits of cinnamon producers and farmers quite considerable.
Gift box-style cinnamon bark.
According to Li Xiaolan, a representative of the National People’s Congress, cinnamon is a highly promising industry for enriching the people and revitalizing villages. In her hometown of Lishao Town, Longjiu Village, 300 acres of cinnamon trees are currently planted, all cultivated by individual farmers. Roughly calculating, cinnamon bark sells for over 7 yuan per pound, and cinnamon leaves and wood can also be sold, allowing villagers to increase their income by over 200,000 yuan annually from these 300 acres of cinnamon. At the National People’s Congress, she also proposed the establishment of a national-level cinnamon industrial park in Guangdong and Guangxi, gradually forming a complete industry chain encompassing planting, research, processing, storage, trade, and health care.
With the rise of rural tourism, the local area has also embarked on a development path integrating planting, processing, sales, and tourism health care. The beautiful rural boutique tourism route in Luoding includes the “Luoding City Jintan Cinnamon Cultural Village → Cinnamon Theme Park,” with the slogan “Come for the fragrance, return with cinnamon” providing a new interpretation for the integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism.
Going Global, Fragrance Spreading Overseas
“Yunfu, which is thirty years old, is full of vitality and has already closely connected with RCEP!” Recently, Xu Ningning, Executive Director of the China-ASEAN Business Council and Chairman of the RCEP Industry Cooperation Committee, visited Yunfu for discussions.In recent years, Yunfu has been deeply implementing the strategy of “Eastward integration with the Bay Area, Westward connection with RCEP,” leveraging its advantages to carry out a series of innovative and pragmatic platform and mechanism constructions, achieving early results.For Luoding cinnamon, which has long had experience in going global, this opportunity is naturally not to be missed. At the 2023 China (Guangdong Yunfu) – RCEP Industry Cooperation Conference, the RCEP Southern Medicine (Cinnamon) Industry Base was officially inaugurated, and the new platform will actively promote Yunfu’s southern medicine (cinnamon) and other characteristic industries, fully expanding and deepening economic and trade cooperation with RCEP member countries.Luoding cinnamon has a solid foundation for going global. In recent years, the cinnamon oil and bark exported from Luoding have consistently exceeded 50% of the national total for cinnamon product exports, reaching markets in Vietnam, Europe, America, Japan, South Korea, and India, leading to the saying, “The world’s cinnamon looks to China, and China’s cinnamon looks to Luoding.”According to a relevant person in charge of the Luoding Natural Resources Bureau, “The Luoding cinnamon industry is still in its infancy.” This development space exists in deep processing technology and refined products.
Youthful and refined product packaging design.
Wu Juexing is one of the young people eager to promote Luoding cinnamon’s “great potential.” After starting a business outside, he returned to Yunfu and launched a series of seedless yellow skin mooncake products in 2022, which were very popular. Since last year, he has developed a product matrix around Luoding cinnamon, founded the “Cinnamon Care” brand, and led his team in the refined product development, brand promotion, and packaging design of cinnamon, actively exploring domestic and cross-border e-commerce markets.“Luoding cinnamon will definitely produce a ‘single champion’ in a niche market!” Wu Juexing is confident but also aware of the challenges. “However, there are many issues to address, including standardized planting and harvesting at the source, and deep exploration of product application scenarios and target demographics by chain enterprises. Cinnamon is a universally accepted product internationally, and we need to leverage favorable winds to better enter the consumer markets of recipient countries.”As the main production area, Tanbin Town is exploring the establishment of a standardized cinnamon storage and distribution center, where cinnamon bark, powder, oil, benzaldehyde, and other products will be stored according to grade and standards, thereby gaining a say in the supply of cinnamon raw materials both domestically and internationally. A “global design + Tan cinnamon raw materials + global market” cinnamon industry design center is also in the works.
It is worth noting that in the industrial development of cinnamon, more and more young people are taking up the “cinnamon business.” Cui Caichan is one of them; she has witnessed the significant changes that cinnamon has brought to her hometown and hopes to contribute to the “hometown of cinnamon” through product development, standardized lists, and assembly line operations.In terms of spatial carriers, Luoding has successfully applied for a cinnamon industrial park—a provincial-level modern agricultural industrial park, with crowds flocking to the annual cinnamon cultural festival. Staff from Guangdong Pharmaceutical University revealed that they plan to establish the Guangdong Pharmaceutical University Luoding Cinnamon Industry Development Center in Luoding, introducing social and enterprise resources to further explore the added value of cinnamon in food, medicine, health products, and cosmetics.By embarking on a path of standardization, scale, and normalization, both production and quality have seen a dual increase, and a single cinnamon tree has unleashed unexpected vitality. Luoding and cinnamon are moving towards a mutually beneficial future. When visiting Luoding, be sure to take some cinnamon with you, gently peel it open, and savor the “freshness” of Luoding.
【Profile】
Luoding City is the largest cinnamon production area in the country.
It is known as the “Hometown of Chinese Cinnamon.”
The cinnamon produced here has a rich and lasting fragrance, with a moderate sweet and spicy flavor.
It is exported to South Asia, the Middle East, and other countries along the “Belt and Road” initiative.
It is a Chinese national geographical indication product and a Chinese climate ecological excellent product.
It is one of Guangdong’s “Three Major Forest Specialties” and one of the “Ten Treasures of Guangdong.”
Small cinnamon is full of treasures.
Cinnamon bark is an important seasoning for meat cooking.
Cinnamon leaves can be processed into cinnamon oil and spices.
Cinnamon twigs are raw materials for pharmaceuticals.
It is also one of the raw materials for Coca-Cola.
On the path of industrial growth, Luoding cinnamon products are deeply researched in the fields of food, medicine, health products, daily necessities, and cosmetics.
By establishing standards, building brands, and deep processing, they are enhancing market influence.
They are nurturing the grand vision of becoming a “World Cinnamon Trade Center.”
Source: Southern+Produced by:Wu YongxueFirst Review: Li ManSecond Review: Li YongdingThird Review: Cheng WenSubmission Email:[email protected]
