At the end of last year, the demand for lemons surged in the Chinese market, and the price doubled. In order to understand the subsequent impact of this on the lemon season, Freshplaza spoke to Mr. Wang Guolong from HuiDa Lemon Technology Group.
"In December last year when the prevention and control measures against COVID had just lifted, the demand for lemons surged in the short-term due to experts recommending that drinking lemon water could relieve the symptoms of COVID infection. The price of lemons doubled and the supply was still short. During that half-month period, the production area sold 30%-40% of the inventory, and the remaining inventory is neglible at present. Although the price has since dropped and gradually stabilized, the decline has not been large, and the price is still higher than in the same period in previous years."
"Due to the pandemic, during the Spring Festival last year, the turnover of people has been greatly reduced, and the sales of lemons are not ideal. With the release of COVID prevention measures this year, the consumption power had increased significantly before the Spring Festival, and lemon consumption was very large. I believe that the market will gradually improve this year."
In addition to domestic sales, export is an important area for the Huida Lemon. Its main export destinations include Southeast Asian countries and Russia. Due to the above reasons, the cost of lemons has soared. Since December, the export price has increased by about 50%-75% compared with the previous year. The price doubled during the peak period, weakening the competitiveness of lemon exports. According to Mr. Wang, the export volume of lemons in this season has decreased compared with previous years, but the domestic sales are strong.
Talking about the quality of lemons in this season, Mr. Wang said, "The dry weather last summer delayed the lemon season by about a month, and the lemons picked at the end of the season may have less juice content. Meanwhile, the dry weather has reduced crop diseases and insect pests, the skin of fruits is smooth, and the overall quality of lemons is better."
Due to the strong sales of lemons in the early stage of the season, the inventory in production areas has decreased year-on-year. Mr. Wang estimated that the price of lemons may rise in the middle and late stages of the season (May-August).
Huida Lemon Technology Group Co., Ltd. was established in 2007. It is a whole industry chain enterprise integrating lemon planting, research and development, deep processing, logistics, sales and export. The company's lemon production base is located in Tongnan, Chongqing, which is the national ecological origin of lemons in China. Its factory is equipped with a series of production lines such as a non-destructive automatic sorting line for lemons. The company's products include fresh lemons and a variety of processed lemon products, with a total annual turnover of 200,000 tons of lemons. The company has established sales centers in many regions across China and has a variety of sales channels such as direct stores, large supermarkets, and online e-commerce.
For more information:
Contact: Wang Guolong
Huida Lemon Technology Group
Tel./Whatsapp: +86 19922280621
Email: hdguolong@163.com
Website: https://cn.hdlemon.com/