Lugu lake is located at the border between Sichuan and Yunnan. It is the third deepest freshwater lake of China. The average depth of the lake is over 40 meters. The unique high elevation monsoon climate helps local farmers to avoid most of the problems with insects. Many fruits and vegetables are labeled as healthy food products from an original environment. Apple cultivation is very common here. Almost every family has its own apple orchard. But selling is difficult and a great deal of apples go to waste every year.
Small volumes are hard to sell
Ms. Zhao is a local. Her family has a large stretch of apple orchard. "Even though the orchards here are all big, they don't yield all that much. Compared to other apple regions in China, the Lugu Lake region is considered a low-yield area. There are two main explanations. First there is the climate. Apple trees are categorised as temperate zone vegetation. They're mostly cultivated in provinces like Shandong, Shaanxi and Shanxi. High elevation regions are colder and dryer than low elevation regions in the same period. So the production volume of agricultural products from high elevation regions are generally lower. Another reason is the soil. The local high elevation soil is not very fertile, but also no chemical fertilisers or pesticide are used. Every farming household uses its own organic waste as fertiliser. This also keeps the production volume low," says Ms. Zhao.
In general, the sales pressure is rather small when the production volume is low. But in the Lugu Lake region, notwithstanding the small volumes, only 1/20 of the total apple production is sold. Ms. Zhao explains, "the situation of most farming households is the same as ours. Every year a large volume of ripe apples rot away without being sold. We even did a promotion on the internet, which helped our sales a bit. But even so, the greater part of the apples aren't sold in the end and they're too much to eat by ourselves. It's an enormous waste."
Difficult access to online shops
The proportion of fruits and vegetables that are sold in online shops is getting bigger and bigger these days. Be that as it may, this trend has brought no visible benefit for the Lugu Lake apples. "The Lugu Lake region is pretty remote and express delivery isn't developed here. Almost everyone who tasted our local apples come back for more. But the delivery cost still exceeds the actual cost of the apples by a large degree and the process of transportation involves many factors that are not under control. Indirectly they influence the quality of the apples. The development of the online sales industry in this region is very slow as a result."
Difficult access to online shops
The proportion of fruits and vegetables that are sold in online shops is getting bigger and bigger these days. Be that as it may, this trend has brought no visible benefit for the Lugu Lake apples. "The Lugu Lake region is pretty remote and express delivery isn't developed here. Almost everyone who tasted our local apples come back for more. But the delivery cost still exceeds the actual cost of the apples by a large degree and the process of transportation involves many factors that are not under control. Indirectly they influence the quality of the apples. The development of the online sales industry in this region is very slow as a result."
In order to reduce the waste of apples, the apple farmers of the Lugu Lake region consider drying the apples for sale. The idea is very good, but "normally we only harvest and roast the apples right away on customer's demand. The drying is also an added process, for which we lack installations and labour force. It's also time consuming and the production volume is low, so there isn't very much to consider.
The Lugu Lake apples are ripe rather late compared to other regions. We normally start to harvest at the end of autumn or the start of the winter. We hope that the prospects for the sales of our apples may change for the better this year.
For more information about Lugu Lake apples,
The Lugu Lake apples are ripe rather late compared to other regions. We normally start to harvest at the end of autumn or the start of the winter. We hope that the prospects for the sales of our apples may change for the better this year.
For more information about Lugu Lake apples,
Ms. Zhao
Telephone:+86 15283427780
Telephone:+86 15283427780
Wechat:15283427780