Fear unripe pomelo shipments will erode early export market

The earliest 2016 pomelo crop has been harvested and is on its way to Europe. Estimations say that there are currently a couple of hundred of containers out at sea. Each year, new pomelos are harvested and exported earlier in August. Pomelo production in China keeps increasing, and price competition has become fierce. As a result exporters are moving shipments forward in the season the hope to be part of the first suppliers of the season.

Traditionally, Pinghe county, at the East coast of China, is the heartland of Chinese pomelo production. Most of the pomelo trees that bear fruit have been planted in the eighties and are over thirty years old. A grower from Pinghe estimates that the number of pomelo trees in China has increased by 10% this year alone. “From 2005 onward, provinces like Guanxi, Hainan and Hubei started to invest in the production of pomelos. Now these early trees have come to maturity and have started to bear fruits. Planting keeps being increased, and competition with traditional planting areas has become fierce.”

Growers and exporters eager to catch the early market have started to harvest two weeks ago. This is early in the season, and critics say the pomelo has not fully ripened yet.

“Early citrus has already been shipped to Europe. Some of our clients also require us to harvest as early as early possible. To meet these demands, we will start our first harvest next week. At this moment, the pomelo crop is not fully ripe yet, only 60% to 70%. As a result, the crop is less sweet and juicy. We will wait another couple of weeks before we start harvesting our crop for export. These few weeks will make a difference regarding the quality, taste and size of the pomelo. Shipments sent to the European and Russian market by other companies account for 10 kg per tray, whereas the weight later in the season is 11 to 12 kg per tray.”

The peel of a pomelo that is not fully ripe yet is thicker, the citrus is less juicy and contains lower sugar levels

“These early shipments worry us. The quality is not good enough yet, and customers might be disappointed. This could pose a problem for future sales. This trend is difficult to reverse because growers are so eager to sell. Last week we visited a number of our affiliated orchards to monitor pesticide use and check on residue levels. When we arrived, we realised that one of our growers already started to harvest the crop. Another exporter had offered our grower 20 cents per tray more to persuade them to harvest the fruit now.”