Due to weather conditions, the total quantity of Chinese garlic this year is about 30% less than previous year. Overall quality, however, should remain good through summer peak production months and beyond. According to Gao Lifeng, general manager of Yafod International Limited in Shandong, sizing of garlic this year will be on the small side.
"The crop this year has smaller sizes than the previous year due to bad weather conditions prior to harvest, the starting price however is relatively high," he said. Yafod International markets and exports their garlic under the Pretty Garlic brand. Established in 2000, the company now ships over 20,000 tons of garlic to Europe, South America and the Middle East. Lifeng added that, although sizing is smaller this year, quality of garlic is still very good.
"Most diameters of garlic this year fall into the range of 5-5.5 centimetres, but garlic quality is good in general," he said. More to the point, he added that they should still be able to meet all quality requirements for each region to which they export. The more pressing problem going forward, he noted, will be keeping prices competitive.
"There are many challenges in the garlic export business, but among them, we always strive to keep a top quality product at a competitive price," he said. That involves both monitoring quality and working with importers to deliver the best possible prices.
"Importers all need good quality, but also good prices," he said. "So we work hard to maintain strict quality control for each shipment, we store garlic to fight against market fluctuations so we can commit to orders placed, and we also keep clients informed of daily market changes."
Though Pretty Garlic has the ability to ship garlic year-round thanks to cold storage warehouses, the peak season for the latest garlic crop should run from this month through August.
For more information please visit www.prettygarlic.com or contact Gao Lifeng at [email protected]