Shanxi Tianzhirun Date Industry Co, a date producer based in Shanxi, will cooperate with Flinders University in Australia to develop date and walnut functional foods, according to an agreement signed in Taiyuan on Sept 19.

Functional foods are foods that have the additional function of providing the consumer with some kind of health benefit.

The two sides will invest nearly 20 million yuan ($3.04 million) in developing a series of functional foods focusing on benefiting the spleen, stomach, brain and fetus. The research and development will combine traditional Chinese medicine, overseas modern technologies, and Shanxi’s resource advantages in date and walnut production.

Shanxi is a major production base of dates and walnuts in China. There are now 3,333.33 square kilometers of dates planted, with annual output reaching 3.67 million metric tons, accounting for one fourth of national output. The planting area of walnuts covers 5,300 square kilometers with an annual output of 60,000 tons. Both output and the planting area of walnuts ranks second in China.

The date and walnut functional foods are expected to appear on the market around the time of this year's Spring Festival, and sales of over 10 billion yuan are predicted over the next three years.