East China county succeeds in transforming traditional rose industry with digital technologies

Pingyin County of east China's Shandong Province, renowned for its rose farming, has witnessed a remarkable transformation shifting from traditional rose growing to a digitally integrated and diversified model, which has played a significant role in boosting the local economy and enriching the life of its residents.

Each summer, Pingyin's rose fields would burst into bloom. By 3:00 in the morning, the fields come alive with harvesting.

"With this (origin tracing) card, we can simply place roses we are selling on the scale when having them weighted, and the company will directly transfer payment to your account. It's very convenient. It's very convenient," said Zhao Qingzhuang, a local rose farmer.

The rose origin tracing card, linked to farmer's information, enables real-time recording and uploading of flower transaction data with a simple scan. The platform's integrated settlement system with enterprises and banks ensures quick payment to the sellers.

This convenience is in a stark contrast to the past, prompting local authorities to implement drastic reforms to break the industry's deadlock.

"At that time, we closed down 126 rose processing home workshops that did not meet the standards, and the government investment platform invested 460 million yuan (around 64 million U.S. dollars) in building the Pingyin High-End Rose Industry Park, step by step completing the upgrading of the Pingyin rose industry and the transition of old driving forces toward new ones," said Zhao Bo, director of characteristic industry development center in Pingyin County.

The local area has embraced digital transformation across the entire rose industry chain, establishing an industry-wide big data center with the support of a cross-industry, cross-field industrial internet platform.

"This is the transaction data we analyze every year, including intelligent planting and large-scale model technologies which are provided to farmers. Here we would also make an estimate and statistics of the production of Pingyin roses across eight grids, and analyze the product popularity in every city or every corner of our country by scanning the codes to retrieve and process data to help companies in developing marketing strategies," said Li He, a project manager of Inspur Yunzhou Industrial Internet Co., Ltd.  

"Now we can check the soil moisture level, when to water and fertilize on our mobile phone. If you still don't understand something, you can ask an expert," said Ding Jifeng, a rose grower.

Pingyin's rose industry, with operators interconnected through the intelligent platform, boasts 4,000 hectares of rose plantations generating 6 billion yuan (around 838 million U.S. dollars) annually. Rose products have diversified beyond traditional uses to encompass high-end sectors like medicine, chemicals, and cosmetics. This thriving industry is also fostering integration with cultural tourism and other sectors.

"Relying on advantageous and characteristic agriculture, we have developed new rural industries and business formats, formed an industrial chain dominated by roses, and realized the transformation from traditional planting to modern and diversified one," said Zhao Peng, deputy head of Pingyin County.

East China county succeeds in transforming traditional rose industry with digital technologies

Wine companies in Italy are anxious as U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on the so-called "reciprocal tariffs," imposing a 20-percent tariff on the European Union.

Giulia D'Alema, head of a family-owned wine business in Italy's Umbria region, is facing significant uncertainty for the upcoming wine sales season following the announcement of tariffs on EU products, including wine.

Her family's 7.5-hectare vineyard has completed its major annual tasks — trimming, tying, and weeding — to ensure healthy grape growth and a fruitful harvest.

However, despite these preparations, D'Alema is troubled by the looming threat of new tariffs on Italian wines exported to the United States.

The United States is a key market for Italian wines, with exports valued at approximately 2 billion euros in 2024 alone.

Yet, the announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump has put this vital export market at risk.

"If tariffs are imposed, U.S. importers won't be able to import my wine because selling my rose will no longer be profitable for them. I've already increased production specifically for this (U.S.) market, so now I have to find other ways to absorb this surplus," said D'Alema.

In the wine-producing region of Umbria in central Italy, it is the small and medium-sized wineries that are hit the hardest. Large enterprises can mitigate risks by adjusting their market strategies, but small family-owned businesses often rely on a single market. The imposition of tariffs creates a great deal of uncertainty for their operations.

In 2024, Italy's bottled wine exports to the United States reached 1.94 billion euros. According to calculations by the largest agricultural association in Italy, the Italian Confederation of Farmers (CIA), if tariffs prevent Italian wines from being exported to the United States, Italian wineries could face daily losses of 6 million U.S. dollars.

Trump's 20 pct tariffs on EU raise concerns for Italian wine export