The fresh Wuxuan mandarin is a relatively new variety that has only been promoted for a few years now. The production volume is still small, but the flavor is unique and the sales season has been good. The market for this mandarin variety is quickly growing. Mr. Yi, a spokesperson for Guangxi Jie Zhi Yuan Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. recently talked about the sales conditions for Wuxuan mandarins and future market trends.
The product quality of Wuxuan mandarins from Wuxuan county in Guangxi is excellent. The appearance of this mandarin variety resembles the Orah mandarin and the Maogu mandarin. The fruit size is around 200-400 grams. The Wuxuan mandarin is perfectly round and the peel is a bright red color with fine texture and a shiny gloss. The peel is a medium thickness. Furthermore, the Wuxuan mandarin has few seeds, is very juicy, and the sweetness can reach as high as 16%.
When manager Yi was asked about the strong points of this mandarin variety, he answered, "apart from the unique flavor, this mandarin variety enters the market at a time when few other mandarin varieties do. The peak period of the Wuxuan mandarin sales season begins every year in April and continues until June. The sales season of Orah mandarins is already over around that time, and Shatang tangerines have not yet entered the market. The Wuxuan market therefore takes advantage of a gap in the mandarin market."
Manager Yi also looked back on the market conditions in the previous season, "this is the second year that we've sold our fresh Wuxuan mandarins. The overall sales volume reached around 500 thousand kg. We adjusted our sales strategy during the outbreak of Covid-19. We reduced the delivery volume to offline shops and focused our attention instead on e-commerce platforms active in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. The overall sales conditions were quite good last season. The purchase price of our top-quality mandarins was between 7-8 yuan [1.02-1.17 USD] per 0.5 kg. The retail price went as high as 15 yuan [2.20 USD] per 0.5 kg. That is slightly higher than last year because Chinese consumers are more eager to buy fruits rich in vitamin C. When the market reached its peak, we'd already ran out of fresh Wuxuan mandarins. Market demand exceeded our supply volume," said manager Yi.
"Consumers are already showing quite a lot of attention for such a recently developed mandarin variety. I think the fresh Wuxuan mandarin has a lot of market potential once the word about our mandarin spreads."
The fresh Wuxuan mandarin is currently targeting the domestic market. The production volume is not large enough to export this mandarin. Jie Zhi Yuan Agricultural Development plans to expand the overall surface area devoted to Wuxuan mandarins in the next 3-5 years.
The company hopes to add an additional 7-20 thousand hectares in Laibin and Wuxuan, and turn the Wuxuan mandarin into a regional specialty product.
According to manager Yi, "we encourage the local farmers there to switch to Wuxuan mandarins because this mandarin variety is easy to manage and only vulnerable to a small number of plant diseases and insect pests. The Wuxuan seedlings are easily grafted on mature mandarin trees, their production volume is high, and the product quality is good. We also offer free support to local farmers and search for high-end retail channels. We hope to bring the unique flavor of fresh Wuxuan mandarins to even more consumers throughout the country."
For more information:
Mr. Yi - manager
Guangxi Jie Zhi Yuan Agricultural Development Co., Ltd.
Tel.: +86 18877308149