After setting foot in the fruit and wine industries, Lenovo-owned produce power Joyvio Group has now made forays into one of China's most emblematic agribusiness sectors - tea.

Late last month, the Beijing-based company announced it had entered into a strategic partnership with a subsidiary enterprise of the Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

The partnership, officially with Hangzhou Longguan, will seek to modernize the iconic Longjing Tea, which is one of the most popular teas in the domestic market.

In a release, Joyvio managing director Chen Shaopeng said the deal would bring unique advantages in business management and brand marketing, as well as in the operational and cultural aspects of globalization that related to the crop.

China is the world's largest tea grower and the second-largest exporter, behind Sri Lanka. However, China's tea industry faces many similar challenges to its fruit industry, in that there are many small growers, a need for technological improvements and branding is not as strong as it is elsewhere.

www.freshfruitportal.com