Standards for the lacquer tree industry drafted with the participation of Longtou Guoqi have been officially issued and implemented, covering lacquer tree seedling cultivation, lacquer tapping operations and raw lacquer grading requirements, and providing a unified basis for industry standardization.
What the standards cover
- Lacquer tree seedling cultivation: sets out requirements for seedling quality, outplanting specifications and quarantine;
- Lacquer tapping operations: specifies the cutting method, tapping cycle and load per tree, balancing yield with the care of lacquer trees;
- Raw lacquer grading: establishes the basis for grading and inspecting raw lacquer quality, reducing quality disputes in trading.
Why standards are needed
For a long time, raw lacquer trading has relied largely on experience, with inconsistent quality criteria, which affected the bargaining position of lacquer farmers and constrained stable procurement by downstream enterprises. With the standards in place, there is now a unified basis running from seedling cultivation and tapping to grading, helping to form a market mechanism in which better quality commands better prices.
Significance for the industry
The issuance and implementation of the standards marks the Chinese lacquer industry's shift from being experience-driven to standards-driven. For lacquer farmers, standardized operations mean protection for the lifespan of lacquer trees and long-term returns; for buyers, unified grading means predictable raw material quality. Longtou Guoqi will be among the first to fully implement the standards across its own bases and cooperatives, and will work with industry organizations on dissemination and training.