Garlic sprouts being transported after harvest
New garlic crop nearing the harvest.
No decrease in yield
Jinxiang City is one of China’s biggest garlic producers. Jinxiang’s Central government has recently released a garlic market update. Their estimation is that total production this year will be no more than 2% less than last season. If Jinxiang’s production has not been affected, it can assumed that the effects on the total industry will be limited.
“We are in Jinxiang, which is a main garlic producing area in China. There are many rumours that the cold weather in January and February has damaged big parts of the new garlic crop. I do not think that this will be the case, only a small part of the new crop has been affected.This is one of the reasons why the garlic price has gone up so high: strong speculation. My estimation is that this year’s yield will be similar to last year’s yield.”
Steven Zhou with a British visitor at the gate of the international garlic market in Jinxiang
Current price not acceptable
“One of your aims is to keep our buyers as well informed as possible. If there is no real demand in our client’s home markets, they will not place an order at this point. That is why in the last six weeks we have received few orders and have sent only a few containers abroad. The price of Chinese garlic was not acceptable.”
“At the moment there is ample of garlic stocked in cold storage around Jining and Jinxiang. Owners of cold storage facilities and trading companies are unwilling to supply us with the crop, perhaps they are speculating on prices going up even further. I know of exporters that have received orders from abroad, but cannot buy any garlic. Our factory is too small to affect the garlic trading price. We can advice our clients, however, when is the best time to place their orders.”
“We have 440 hectares of garlic plantings. The Chinese Inspection and Quarantine Services bureau monitor strictly the origin of crops that will be exported. We all have been assigned series numbers that can be used to trace our products back to our fields. Companies need to obtain special permits to be allowed to export”.
Young fresh garlic
“New garlic from Southern region has entered the market a couple of weeks ago. So far, also this price has been high. I believe that prices will come down within a month or so. After a month, the new crop will be fully available and ready for export. By then, the garlic that is now kept in cold storage will also have to be sold.”
“Our main export markets are Russia, Brasil, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Brasil is one of our largest export markets and biggest growth market. For a while, export to Indonesia was not possible. The government has implemented stricter import procedures, and we had to register with the Indonesian Food and Safety department. This year we will be able to restart our export.”
Garlic being inspected by Jining CIQ authorities
Garlic being laid out to dry in the sun
Packed garlic ready for export
For more information:
Steven ZhouBestway Group
www.bestwaygroup.com.cn
Jining City, Shandong Province, P.R. China
Office: +86 537 8788989
Mobile: +86 15263788088
Skype: zhoukezhan
Whatsapp/Wechat: +86 15263788088
E-mail: stevenzhou@bestwaygroup.com.cn
