The Fire Crystal Persimmon is a regional variety from Lintong District in Xi'An City. This persimmon variety is acknowledged as a Chinese Regional Product. The persimmon turns a fiery red when ripe and the bright color resembles a fire crystal, hence the name. This year's harvest of Fire Crystal Persimmon already began three weeks ago. Manager Wei, spokesperson for Fresh Mao, a specialized e-commerce trader of Fire Crystal Persimmon, recently talked about current conditions in the Fire Crystal Persimmon industry.
According to manager Zhou, the harvest of Fire Crystal Persimmon usually begins in late September, and the peak period of harvest season lasts until mid- to late November. This year the Fire Crystal Persimmon production areas suffered from excessive rainfall. The product quality is not great, and many persimmon were lost because product quality was damaged too much by excessive rainfall. Only a small portion of the harvest volume was commercially viable. Although the supply volume is much smaller, the market price is only slightly higher than last year. The purchase price of top-quality Fire Crystal Persimmon is currently around 1.5 yuan [0.22 USD] per 0.5 kg, compared to 1 yuan [0.15 USD] per 0.5 kg around this time last year. After packaging, the price is 3.5 yuan [0.52 USD] per 0.5 kg.
"We already began selling our Fire Crystal Persimmon on e-commerce platforms several years ago. We also sell to large supermarkets. However, this fruit is becoming more and more popular in the Chinese market, so the number of persimmon companies continues to grow every year. Even before Fire Crystal Persimmon officially enter the market, some imitation persimmon are already available. The difference between genuine Fire Crystal Persimmon and cheap imitations is difficult to tell for consumers without expertise."
Unlike most persimmon in the market, the Fire Crystal Persimmon softens when ripe. Only then does the flavor reach its full potential. This brings some challenges to persimmon sales in the physical stores of Fresh Mao. "Some customers who are not familiar with Fire Crystal Persimmon tend to eat the persimmon as soon as they purchase them, but the Fire Crystal Persimmon is too bitter when it is not yet ripe. Customers do not have a great experience with unripe persimmon, and they tend to not come back. Online sales work better, because we are able to explain to online traders and wholesale traders the need to let the persimmon ripen properly. We select our persimmon based on the location of our retailers and the time it takes for our persimmon to reach them. Then we inform the retailers how long they should keep the persimmon in storage to reach full ripeness," explained manager Zhou. "This season, while we continue to sell our persimmon in online and physical stores, we have also begun to supply Ole and Rainbow Department Stores. We even exported some Fire Crystal Persimmon to Canada via a third party."
In addition to fresh Fire Crystal Persimmon, Fresh Mao also sells a wide variety of processed persimmon products. The main production area of persimmon is in Fuping, Weinan, in Shaanxi. The sugar content of Fuping persimmon is quite high and the fruit is rich in nutrients. The persimmon from Fuping are thick and creamy, and their flavor is excellent. The harvest of Fuping persimmon begins every year in late November when the weather turns colder. They arrive on the market in late November. The company supplies 500 g craft paper bags as well as 1-2.5 kg gift boxes, and even premium gift boxes for the high-end market. The Fresh Mao team hopes to bring the delicious flavor of their persimmon products to even more consumers across the country.
For more information:
Mr. Wei
Shenzhen City Fresh Mao Agricultural Development Co., Ltd.
Tel.: 0755-55556666
Tel.: +86 18603038525
WeChat: +86 18603038525
E-mail: zhouwei@freshmao.com