Tomatoes planted in the spring have been pouring into the market since July, and prices plunged to a new low point for this time of the year. Although prices have undergone a big increase this week, the overall pricing level is still only half of that of the same period last year.
Tomatoes currently sold in the market mainly come from Chifeng and Baotou in Inner Mongolia; Jinzhou, Anshan, and Chaoyang in Liaoning; Siping and Changchun in Jilin; and Suihua in Heilongjiang. Due to continuous rainfall, the quality of the products from the three provinces in the North, Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang, has been affected, and products are not suitable for long-term storage, so sales are experiencing high pressure. It is difficult for prices to exceed 2 yuan/kg in general. Tomatoes from Inner Mongolia can be stored for a longer period of time, so prices are higher.
As the total production of summer tomatoes is significantly higher than last year, some traders have suffered losses, resulting in frequent fluctuations in supply volumes. When the market volume increases, prices drop and traders suffer losses; when the market volume declines, prices go up and attract some merchants to again send tomatoes to the market, suppressing the price again.
Source: Beijing Xinfadi Market Department