The overall surface areas devoted to the plantation of many different kinds of fruit have all been expanded in recent years, and their production volumes grow larger ever year. Abundant harvests lead to excessive market supply, which in turn pushes the market price down. In addition, the outbreak of Covid-19 last year created many obstacles for distribution and labor, which had a significant impact on the fruit market. Kiwi fruit is but one of many fruits to suffer from these market conditions.
The kiwi fruit market is somewhat smaller than the markets for apples and bananas, but the kiwi fruit, so rich in vitamin C, remains one of the most popular fruits in the market. "Retail conditions have been quite good in the last few years. Many farmers have expanded the surface area devoted to kiwi fruit plantation to take advantage of these market conditions. That is why the production volume is rapidly expanding. The overall production volume of Chinese kiwi fruit increased by 10%-15% compared to last year. And this takes place at a moment in time when the supply volumes of other fruits also grow, but consumer power weakens. This is not good news for the kiwi fruit industry," said Mr. Di Gang of Zibo Boshan Bifangting Specialized Kiwi Fruit Plantation Cooperation.
Mr. Di Gang continued, "Zibo is one of the largest kiwi fruit production areas in China. This year the kiwi fruit harvest from Zibo began to enter the Chinese market in large volumes in early September. At that time the purchase price was 4-5 yuan [0.62-0.77 USD] per 0.5 kg. In less than two weeks, the price already dropped to 2-3 yuan [0.31-0.46 USD] per 0.5 kg. Kiwi fruit farmers did not see a price decline of this magnitude coming. The price is unlikely to climb very high later in the season. And kiwi fruit from Guangyuan in Sichuan will soon enter the Chinese market as well. The purchase price may well drop below 2 yuan [0.31 USD] per 0.5 kg when that happens."
In addition to excessive market supply, the price decline is also the result of early harvesting practices. For many years farmers have harvested their kiwi fruit too early, to take advantage of higher opening prices. But the flavor of unripe kiwi fruit is too sour. Consumers remember unpleasant experiences with unripe kiwi fruit and become more careful when they consider buying kiwi fruit again, especially when buying kiwi fruit online. Relevant departments have implemented strict regulations in recent years to fight this development. They prohibit early harvesting practices, but unripe kiwi fruit still frequently appears on the market.
For more information:
Mr. Di Gang
Zibo Boshan Bifangting Specialized Kiwi Fruit Plantation Cooperation
Tel.: +86 138 5336 9456
E-mail: 944917296@qq.com