For three years on end, Jiangxi, whose land area is dotted by lakes and rivers, has ranked first among non-coastal provinces in foreign exchange earnings of aquatic products.

Its output value of special aquatic products, like eel, freshwater fish, turtles, has risen swiftly to 5.8 billion yuan (US$698 million) compared with only 1.4 billion yuan in 1995.

So far, Jiangxi has already emerged as one of the major bases of eel breeding with an annual production of over 8,000 tons. The earnings in foreign exchange topped US$20 million.

The province has also become one of the largest producers of turtles. Jiangxi now boasts over 40 special species of aquatic products.

(Xinhua 01/15/2001)