"We now fetch higher yields at better prices"

"We are one of the few companies in Hainan (a Southern province of China) that is planting large scale greenhouse peppers. We purchased our seeds from the branch office of the Dutch company Rijk Zwaan. Besides growing, we are also responsible for the sales and marketing of peppers," explains Mr. Liu Tong of Changjiang Hefeng Agricultural Trade.

"In Hainan province, our company owns a greenhouse pepper cultivation area of over 13 hectare and an outdoor pepper cultivation area of 33 hectares. We have invested in building a green pepper trademark, which we call Jian Jiao Wang, or 'King of the green pepper'."

Unstable climate moves crops inside
“The tropical climate in Hainan province is very suitable for growing crops, that is why most of our plantations are outdoors. However, in recent years, unstable climate and weather conditions are bringing challenges to outdoor plantations. For example, the extreme high temperature last November and the extreme cold weather early this year nearly devastated all of our peppers. It is based on this concern that we gradually move to greenhouse plantations.”

"Indoor growing brings higher yields. Since moving part of our production indoors our annual yield has gone up to 4,000 kilo's. In addition, the taste of the produce improves. Greenhouse peppers have a thinner skin and are moderately spicy. Finally, and this is an important advantage, the retail price of vegetables produced in greenhouses is more stable. Outdoor peppers have been selling for 1.6 Yuan per kilogram this season and the price can go as low as 1 Yuan per kilogram. Prices of greenhouse peppers are far more stable at 2 Yuan per kilogram. In 2016, the price of outdoor peppers went up to 7 Yuan per kilogram. At the same time, indoor peppers fetched as much as 11 Yuan per kilogram."

Growing Chinese pepper market

"The pepper market is growing. 60% to 70% of Chinese consumers opt for peppers as a regular vegetable. Hainan is an important province for pepper production, with over 5,500 hectares or plantings in total. The local government is strongly supporting our industry."

"We started to purchase seeds from Rijkzwaan in 2013. We launched a small scale greenhouse experiment. After that turned out to be successful, we started to scale up our plantations. We can harvest between August up to April and May the next year. This pepper variety needs higher initial investments compared to other varieties, but the returns on investment are higher as well. We are working together with the Agriculture Department of Hainan province to offer pepper seeds to local farmers. Average farms are between 0.6 to 1 hectare in size. When the harvest season starts, we will purchase the peppers from the farmers at a price that guarantees a return on investment. As such, we help to promote the local pepper industry."

"Our peppers are primarily sold in China, specifically in Henan province. Through our own packing houses and with our own cold chain logistics facilities we can ship our peppers to our clients directly."

For more information:

Mr. Liu Tong
Changjiang Hefeng Agricultural Trade
http://www.0898hf.com/
Tel: +86 15501797330
E-mail: liutong1026@163.com