Chinese jujubes recently entered the market but the market conditions are less than ideal. The Huanghua jujubes sell for around 2 yuan [0.28 USD] per 0.5 kg, while the purchase price of jujubes from greenhouses in Dali is around 2.5-3 yuan [0.35-0.42 USD] per 0.5 kg.
Why is this price so disappointing? There are several reasons:
1. The price was relatively high in the last few years. People blindly expanded the surface area devoted to the plantation of jujubes and the market is beginning to saturate.
2. Some farmers sell sun-dried jujubes. People are advised against sun-drying the jujubes, but some farmers still do. When they enter the market, the price goes down.
3. Some farmers harvest jujubes before they are ripe. Some farmers do not manage their jujubes well and the fruit is not yet ripe when others begin to sell their harvest. The farmers are unable to stand by while other sell their harvest and decide to sell their own jujubes before they are ripe. This naturally does not improve the overall price.
4. Plantation suffers from natural disasters. This year the rainfall was excessive. The ratio of top-quality jujubes is not high, but not low either.
Source: Guoye Quanzi