Kiwis from the areas surrounding Chengdu, Sichuan, began to enter the Chinese market in early August. Although these kiwis from Sichuan are still second behind the kiwis from Yunnan, where natural conditions are uniquely suited for kiwi plantation, the kiwis from Sichuan still entered the market half a month earlier than in previous years.
The consumer response to early-season Hongyang kiwis was quite "cold-hearted" this year. The price of Hongyang kiwis in production areas dropped from 6-7 yuan [0.87-1.01 USD] per 0.5 kg to 3-4 yuan [0.43-0.58 USD] per 0.5 kg in one or two months. Several kiwi orchards also suffered from heavy rainfall and flooding in early July. The price dropped as low as 2 yuan [0.29 USD] per 0.5 kg in some cases, and buyers were still not interested. Farmers cried their hearts out, "we will not see a return on our investment."
Kiwis
Reasons for the sudden fall in Hongyang kiwi market
It is impossible to discuss the sudden changes in the Hongyang kiwi market without mentioning the particularly large flood on July 1st, 2018. Countless orchards were flooded, in particular the flat areas where the groundwater level was already high. The water drained slowly after the flood passed. It took orchards several days to get rid of all the excess water, which was not helped by continuous rainfall in the days after the flood. Many Hongyang kiwi orchards near Chengdu suffered irredeemable losses.
Flooded orchard
The early harvest of poor-quality kiwis mixed in a market where the flood had left few kiwis of commercial quality. This created chaos in the kiwi market. The low retail prices in turn put high pressure on the price in kiwi production areas.
Recently harvested kiwis
The price of Hongyang kiwis in Chengdu area gradually recovered after Hongyang kiwis from other areas entered the market in late September. Still, the remaining volume of Hongyang kiwis from Sichuan still on the market is small. The green heart kiwis gradually take over the market and Hongyang kiwi farmers in Sichuan barely have any kiwis left to take advantage of the price increase. This season is over for Hongyang kiwis.
Source: Huozhong Sannong