Data from the Price Bureau of Zhangdian District in Zibo City, Shandong, shows the following developments: up to May 10th, the price of dried garlic in the farmer's market was 2 yuan [0.31 USD] per 0.5 kg, which is price decrease of 50% in comparison with the 4 yuan [0.63 USD] per 0.5 kg in April; the price of young garlic shoots was 1.8 yuan [0.28 USD] per 0.5 kg, which is a price decrease of 48.57% in comparison with the 3.5 yuan [0.55 USD] per 0.5 kg in April.
People in the industry say that the main reason for this development is the influence of new garlic on the market: one the one hand, the warehouses need to be emptied quickly and traders sell dried garlic at dump prices to avoid accumulating too much stock; on the other hand, many farmers got rid of large volumes of young garlic shoots in the last month to guarantee the quality and size of the remaining garlic plants. It even got to the point where farmers invited customers to come pick their own young garlic shoots free of charge. This brought a large volume of young garlic shoots onto the market, which in turn caused a price decrease.
Source: Price Bureau of Zhangdian District in Zibo City in Shandong