"Our company was established in 2015. We currently manage more than 400 hectares (private + cooperative plantations). We spent three years on standardization to prepare for our first harvest, which took place between July and October this year. We harvested more than 500 thousand kg of green crispy plums. The production volume will only grow in the next few years as the fruit trees gradually reach their most productive years. At the height of their productivity the overall production volume could reach 10 million kg." This is according to Feng Cong of Sichuan Songbai Ecological Agriculture Co., Ltd.
Songbai office
Green crispy plum orchard
"Some of the plums split or turned bad because of excessive rainfall during the month of July when the plums are ripening. We lost around 100 thousand kg of green crispy plums because of these weather conditions. That is around 20% of the overall production volume. However, the price is quite stable and we are quite pleased, especially with the retail price. The purchase price is around 10 yuan [1.42 USD] per 0.5 kg, but the retail price for our brand is around 198 yuan [28.15 USD] per 2.5 kg gift box, which is around 40 yuan [5.69 USD] per 0.5 kg."
Green crispy plum orchard
Green crispy plum orchard
"The price of our green crispy plums is higher than the price of other plums. There are several reasons for this difference. First, the areas suitable for green crispy plum plantation are limited to some places in Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, and Guizhou. Our plantation is located in Sichuan at an elevation of 700-1500 meters above sea level. The plum trees receive a lot of sun hours in this location. The temperature difference between day and night is quite big. Because of the sunshine and the temperature difference, the sugar content of our plum is quite high and there is an excellent balance between sweet and sour. Second, we standardized every aspect of plantation and management. We also use ecological fertilizer during the entire process to meet the requirements for organic fruit standards."
Green crispy plum orchard
Workers harvest the green crispy plums
"The green crispy plum is a minority fruit compared to such staple fruits as bananas or apples. The overall supply volume of green crispy plums in the Chinese fruit market is limited. The export volume is quite small as well. We currently sell our plums through a combination of online and offline retail channels. We mainly sell our green crispy plums under our own brand 'Qinba Crispy Plum' in such first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. Our retail operations are linked directly to our plum orchards, which means that most of our retail happens offline. We do sell our plums online, but mainly in order to promote our brand."
Workers harvest the green crispy plums
For more information:
Feng Cong
Sichuan Songbai Ecological Agriculture Co., Ltd.
Tel.: +86 181 1314 3007