Visiting traders in major production areas gradually returned home for Chinese Spring Festival [25 January, 2020]. The sales of Shatang tangerines also slowed down during the festival period. Many production areas have sold more than half their harvest, but there are still some with large volumes of unsold tangerines. Production areas in Guilin, for example, have only sold around 20% of their production volume. Their sales speed is much slower than in recent years.
In Lipu county, Guilin, tangerine production areas have only sold 10% of their harvest. There are many reasons why sales are slow this year. Many orchards in Lipu experienced a delayed harvest. The tangerines did not yet turn the right color before Spring Festival. Some of the tangerines turned green or yellow because of problems with the protective covers. Apart from problems with the growth of tangerines, there were additional problems. The labor cost increased, and the price of tangerines in nearby counties dropped. Farmers in Lipu did not want to sell their tangerines for such a low price, so their sales speed slowed down.
Conditions in Yongfu and Yangshuo, two major Shatang tangerine production areas in Guilin, are not that different from Lipu. They have sold around 10%-20% of their production volume. Last year most production areas had sold more than half their production volume before Chinese Spring Festival. In Yongfu and Yangshuo the sales volume even reached 60%-70% around this time last year, but this year the sales speed slowed down to such an extent that farmers are worried.
Source: ncw365.com