Yunnan green beans: market worries farmers

Currently, off-season vegetables have already gone on sale in Lujiang village near Baoshan city in Yunnan. Among these vegetables, green beans are sold in famously large quantities.

"The Lujiang village lies in the largest dry and hot valley in the world. It has no pollution from industry and a large temperature difference between daytime and night-time. So there is no need to install greenhouses and cultivation is completely outdoors. The beans are brightly coloured and tender, with a very refined taste. This makes them very desired on the markets of Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing and other cities all over China," says Mr. Li, a professional representative agent for Lujiang village.

"But in recent years, the cultivation surface for off-season green beans is gradually growing. This is happening not only in Yunnan, but also in Guangxi, Shandong, Sichuan and other regions. As a result, the whole market supply increases and competition becomes more fierce by the day. Lujiang village's green beans have also started to show unsteady prices. Like a rollercoaster, the prices go up and down and the sales volumes on the market are very unstable. It's a situation that is very worrisome for the local vegetable farmers."

"The cultivation area for green beans in Lujiang village stretches over 2333 hectares. The yearly production volume is around 300,000 tons and supply lasts from October all the way to March. For packaging, we make use of an advanced cold storage facility and then we pack the beans in polystyrene boxes. Apart from green beans, we also have a large quantity of cucumbers, aubergines and tomatoes. We look forward to prospecting for cooperation with wholesale buyers inside and outside China as a stable sales channel."