Harbin will make efforts to promote forestry development by developing new programs, according to a meeting held on Aug 4.

By 2020, the total production value of theforestry industry will reach as much as 45 billion yuan ($6.8 billion) and per capital revenue per worker in the forested areas is expected to reach 200,000 yuan, the meeting said.

There is a strong market demand for edible fungi both at home and abroad, according to the chief of the Harbin Forestry Bureau. Statistics show that a total of 200,000 packages of fungi were produced in 2015, and production value hit 6.8 billion yuan. From now on, the city will focus on the development of its fungi sector. As a result, an industrial cluster will be built for edible fungi, concentrating on black fungus.

The need for medicinal materials is increasing in Northeastern areas, with the development of the national pharmaceutical industry. Harbin is now making efforts to build a “green drug storehouse”, thanks to the city’s unique hilly areas, forests and climate. Many planting areas, perfect for growing the ingredients for herbal medicines have formed naturally in the city. In 2015, the planting area reached 78.7 square meters, in which plants worth 1.5 billion yuan were grown in 2015.

Harbin will vigorously implement a strategy for the development of herbal medicines and find new areas to grow the ingredients to manufacture them. At the same time, the city will make great efforts to strengthen its protection of medicine-growing areas in order to promote sustainable development for the city.