According to the Linyi Administration for Commodity Prices, the garlic price has been quite high in the past two years. It brought large revenues for farmers and traders, and with it a surge in the farmers' interest in garlic production. This led to an increase of the garlic production area this year. Because of the good weather in 2017 and the good garlic growth, the production per hectare is now over 110 kilogram. Cangshan County, for example, now has around 200 million kilograms of garlic in storage, which is an increase of 20% from last year. Currently, over 60% is still left in storage and the supply is saturated.
Data from the Linyi Administration for Commodity Prices show that the current supply on the garlic market is larger than the demand. In the short term, it will be hard for traders to get rid of their storage. Simultaneously, because of new foreign policies, traders are vigorously taking steps to fight for their 2018 export. Importing countries have a lot of choices, and benefit from the depressed prices. Storage owners are trying to get rid of their storage as fast as they can. This will further push down the garlic price. Overall, the production area, production per hectare and stored quantities will determine the garlic price. Currently, the production area is stable, and there is a storage surplus, so this year's garlic price is not looking very optimistic.