The product quality of Chinese tangerines is less than ideal because many production areas suffered from excessive rainfall. Sub-par product quality in turn pulled down the market price. The entire market is depressed. Mr. Yi Zhonghua, spokesperson for Guangxi Jizhiyuan Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. recently talked about current conditions in the Guangxi tangerine market.
The market in Guangxi currently mainly sells Shatang tangerines. The sales season of Shatang tangerines usually starts in the middle of December, but since the market environment has not been great this year, some farmers decided to harvest early before the tangerines were properly ripe. Farmers hope to make a quick profit by entering the market before their competitors, but even though the early-market price was alright, the product quality of the tangerines was not great. The tangerines were not yet ripe and they were not sweet enough. The poor flavor of these tangerines quickly dragged the market price down.
"The purchase price of Shatang tangerines is currently around 3-3.5 yuan [0.46-0.53 USD] per 0.5 kg. This is slightly lower than the purchase price at the start of the season. The market supply volume is gradually growing larger and the price is coming down. The peak period of the Shatang tangerine sales season is expected to continue until the middle of January. That is when the Ori mandarins enter the market in large volumes. There are already some Ori mandarins available, but their supply volume is small. Their price is around 3 yuan [0.46 USD] per 0.5 kg. The price is expected to come down when Ori mandarins enter the market in large volumes, but is likely to remain above 2 yuan [0.31 USD] per 0.5 kg."
"Ori mandarins and Shatang tangerines were extremely popular in recent years. Many farmers followed the trend and began to plant these fruit varieties. The overall surface area devoted to the plantation of Ori mandarins is already around 333,333 hectares. And the surface area devoted to Shatang tangerine plantation is close to 466,667 hectares," said manager Yi. "However, while the first wave of Ori mandarin farmers and the second wave both manage to make a profit, farmers who joined the trend afterwards find the market increasingly saturated. Excessive supply weakens the market so that farmers who recently arrived, especially those without proper plantation management, barely make a profit or even make a loss."
Jiezhiyuan Agricultural Development grows traditional tangerine varieties, but also developed their own Wuxian tangerine variety. According to Mr. Yi: "The Wuxian tangerine is a newly cultivated tangerine variety that only entered the market in large volumes last year. Chinese consumers are not yet familiar with this new variety, but we have received great market feedback from those who tried our new tangerines. There is a growing market demand for Wuxian tangerines. The Wuxian tangerine is easily managed and invulnerable to most insect pests and plant diseases. The tangerines are plump and the production volume is huge. Most important, however, the product quality is great. That is why we encourage local farmers to start producing Wuxian tangerines."
Jiezhiyuan Agricultural Development plans to expand the surface area devoted to Wuxian tangerine plantation in Laibin by 667-2,000 hectares in the next 3-5 years. The company team hopes to establish the Wuxian tangerine as a regional brand. The company team also supports local farmers with technology and opens up new retail channels on their behalf. In this way the company team hopes to bring the excellent and unique flavor of Wuxian tangerines to even more customers.
For more information:
Mr. Yi Zhonghua
Guangxi Jiezhiyuan Agricultural Development Co., Ltd.
Tel.: +86 18877308149