"The overall surface area devoted to watermelon plantation in Shanxi nearly doubled this year. The overall surface area is around 1,000 hectares. The is will likely be a great year for watermelons. The production volume will grow a lot in comparison with last year."
This is according to manager Tian, a spokesperson for Shanxi Xiale Watermelon Co., Ltd.
"Most of the watermelons that have recently entered the market came from production areas in Yunnan. The market price of watermelons significantly declined last month. Distribution was restricted to limit the spread of COVID-19, which had a significant impact on the watermelon industry. The purchase price of watermelons from Hainan dropped to 1 yuan [0.14 USD] per 0.5 kg and still people did not buy them. Earlier this month the market conditions improved.
"The current wholesale price of watermelons is around 4 yuan [0.56 USD] per 0.5 kg. That is more or less the same as around this time last year. The temperature in Yunnan is gradually rising and the market supply of watermelons is slowly shrinking. The first watermelons from Shanxi will will officially enter the market in half a month or so. We expect our watermelons to enter the market 10 days earlier than last year. The reason for this development is our use of innovative technology this year. Our watermelons will enter the market around the 5th of May. The weather in Shanxi is currently perfect for watermelon plantation. This is the time of year when watermelon plants are pollinated."
"We introduced a new product variety this year: Green Tiger Print (Lvhu Heipi). The Green Tiger watermelon is a natural seedless watermelon. The watermelon does not require additives in the water, which makes them 'greener' than other watermelons and healthier as well. The Green Tiger has a sugar content around 14%-15%. Other watermelons have an average sugar content around 12%-12.5%. The Green Tiger watermelon has a tougher skin that allows for a longer shelf life. This is a great advantage during transport and storage."
When asked about the impact of the last two months of COVID-19 epidemic on the watermelon industry, manager Tian replied: "We bought a large volume of fertilizer and watermelon seeds, so the outbreak of the corona virus did not have an impact on our agricultural resources. In addition, most of our workers are locals. We did not suffer from a labor shortage either."
Xiale Watermelon has a plantation located in Xia County, Shanxi. The unique geography and weather conditions there are extremely suitable for watermelon plantation. The plantation occupies a surface area of 733 hectares. Xiale Watermelon mainly sells their products in Beijing, Zhengzhou, Changsha, and other first-tier cities. In addition to the new Green Tiger Print watermelon, Xiale Watermelon also sells 8424 watermelons and Meidu watermelons.
"These two watermelon varieties have a thin skin, red pulp, and a good sugar content around 12%-14%. These watermelons crunchy, fragrant, and sweet. In addition, we use technology to enrich the watermelons with selenium which helps to maintain product quality for a longer period of time. These two watermelon varieties also have a great efficiency in terms of production volume per hectare," said manager Tian.
For more information:
Tian Hongwei
Xiale Watermelon
Tel.: +86 13994960739
Tel.: +86 0359－8582258