Cooperative boosting fortunes of walnut farmers in Xinjiang

BEIJING, Nov. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from China Daily.

One morning in late August, Abdurahman Kebir, vice-chairman of Kuqa City Bostan Walnut Professional Cooperative, began his busy day. While the morning sun was still mild, he headed to the fields to check how ripe the walnuts were. In the afternoon, he went to the factory compound to inspect the processing equipment. A week later, the premises of the cooperative he runs would be filled with walnuts.

Hidden in Kuqa, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in Northwest China, lies a "golden walnut producing area". Blessed by the prime planting belt at 40 degrees north latitude, abundant sunshine and a large diurnal temperature difference, the land nurtures walnuts with plump kernels and rich oil content.

A new variety known as Wensu 185, grown on the Gobi Desert in Aksu prefecture, Xinjiang, has a distinctive feature: its shells can be cracked open bare-handed. The shells yield full kernels that are large, pale and sweet.