The surface area of dragon fruit plantation in China increased from 3,333 hectares in 2011 to 40,000 hectares. This rapid expansion, which began in 2012, has not yet come to an end. Preliminary data show that Guangxi and Hainan alone expanded the surface area of dragon fruit plantation by 6,666 hectares last year and several hundred hectares of banana plantations are currently being converted to dragon fruit plantations. How does this benefit the dragon fruit business? Can the expansion of plantations continue? And is it too late to start planting dragon fruit to join the trend? The third session of the China Dragon Fruit Industry Development Summit Meeting will be organized in Nanning on July 12th, 2018. The summit meeting will offer a platform for 500 specialists in the industry to discuss the aforementioned issues.
Cost analysis of the first year of planting dragon fruit
Great divergence in dragon fruit prices
It is worth noting that despite the constant and continuing investment in dragon fruit plantations, the prices of dragon fruit already show great divergence. Cheng Dongkui, the head of Guangxi Agricultural Science University's Horticultural Center and chief specialist of the Guangxi Characteristic Fruit Innovation Team, divulged that the current price of domestic dragon fruit is 2-7 yuan [0.30-1.03 USD] per 0.5 kg; the fruits that weigh less than 200 grams do not cost more than 2 yuan [0.30 USD] per 0.5 kg, while the fruit that weighs more than 500 grams could cost as much as 6-7 yuan [0.89-1.03 USD] per 0.5 kg.
It is almost certain that the surface area of dragon fruit plantation will continue to expand by 33,333-66,666 hectares. However, the majority of this expansion will come from people who blindly follow the trends. While the surface area will expand, the quality of the dragon fruit that the new plantations will produce will not be up to standards and the price will not be high. This will undoubtedly influence the development of China's dragon fruit industry.
Source: southcn.com