As the autumn winds come up, the Chinese chestnuts grow fragrant. For foodies, now is a great time to eat sweet stir-fried chestnuts. In comparison to last year, the market for Chinese chestnuts started one month earlier, but prices are not as good as last year. Statistics show that the overall price for chestnuts all over the country are on the low side this year.
Currently most Chinese chestnuts come from provinces like Hebei, Shandong, Hubei, Henan and Guangxi. Every year between late July and late October, the chestnuts hit the market everywhere in China. Both demand and supply are high for Chinese chestnuts, with a peak in both occuring annually sometime halfway through September.
Based on geographical distribution, the prices for chestnuts in the north are relatively higher, with the high selling price for chestnuts in Qianxi county in Hebei province being the most representative, at about 20 RMB for 1 kilogram (2.56 EUR). Producers in the prefectures of Linyi and Rizhao in Shandong province offer an in-between price of 9-10 RMB per kilogram ((1.15-1.28 EUR). The price for chestnuts is overall the lowest in the south, where prices in Huanggang city in Hubei province stand at 4-6 RMB per kilogram (0.51 - 0.76 EUR).
The current situation on the market shows that the activity of clients and sellers is high, so goods are also sold quickly. With the Chinese National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival round the corner, chestnuts from producers in Qianxi (Hebei), Dandong (Liaoning), Huanggang (Hubei) and other places will sell well. After this peak in the market, the supply of goods will gradually lower and enter the later market stages. Together with the drop in popularity in terms of both supply and demand, the market price for chestnuts is forecasted to maintain a stable trend.