Garlic from Lanling County in Shandong entered the market in early June. Garlic is an important product for the economy of Lanling, but market prospects do not look good this year. Surveys show that the average purchase price of Lanling garlic was 0.75 yuan [0.12 USD] per 0.5 kg on June 11th, 2018. This is a slight price increase of 7% in comparison with last week. However, it is also a price decrease of 60% in comparison with the 1.80 yuan [0.28 USD] per 0.5 kg in the same period last year.
Conditions at the Lanling garlic market have been cool from the moment fresh garlic entered the market. Traders with storage and farmers both prefer to wait and see how the market develops, rather than actively participate. The daily trade volume is small.
There are two main reasons for the depressed garlic market this year: first, garlic traders with storage suffered relatively severe losses last year, which has made garlic traders with storage more cautious this year. They are less eager to purchase garlic in large volumes. Second, the purchase price is much lower than farmers were hoping for, so they prefer to hold on to their stock for a little while until the price goes up.
Source: Shandong Lanling Price Bureau