Garlic has been prey to a "garlic cycle" in recent years, where the price falls steeply, then rises suddenly and sharply, and then falls steeply again. When Zhongmou garlic first appeared on the market in 2016 it encouraged garlic farmers to start planting Zhongmou garlic. In the last two years, however, garlic plantations have continued to increase and, as supply increases, the price falls.
Zhongmou early-season garlic
Zhongmou early-season garlic first entered the market a few days ago. First-class garlic only sells at 0.6 or 0.7 yuan [0.09 or 0.11 USD] per 0.5 kg. This is only 20-25% of last year's price. It is difficult to escape from the market depression. Zhongmou county has more than 20 thousand hectares of garlic plantations. Nearly one third is devoted to early-season garlic. Industry experts think that Zhongmou early-season garlic will enter the market in large volumes in one week and the market will likely suffer another setback.
Zhongmou early-season garlic
The following reasons influence the price of Zhongmou early-season garlic:
1. Around 500 thousand tons of last year's garlic harvest are unsold and in storage.
2. Yunnan garlic production competes with Zhongmou garlic. The surface area devoted to garlic production in Yunnan increased by 667 hectares this year, and their garlic harvest is one month earlier than for Zhongmou early-season garlic.
3. The Zhongmou garlic production is larger than last year, which means that there is not much room for the price to increase.
Source: zztv.tv