The second harvest of locally grown watermelons has been put on the market. Although the production is high and the quality is good, prices are hopelessly low and many farmers are suffering losses. Fan Zhiqiang, Manager of Yuncheng Yurun Crop Growing Cooperative talked about the current market.
"The market this season is very low, with market prices arguably the worst in history. The decline in the market is mainly brought by two factors. First of all, many provinces in the south have encountered lasting rainy weather, which has significantly reduced consumer demand. Secondly, we are now in the later stage of the Covid-19 outbreak, when the market momentum has not fully recovered and the sales speed of fruit is not as fast as in previous years,” Fan said. "This year, we expanded the area that we source from and added multiple sales channels. Although our sales value so far has nearly doubled year on year, unfortunately, due to the constraints of the current bigger climate, we are only able to send 7 to 8 delivery vehicles a day instead of the originally planned 14 to 15.”
8424 and Hemei are the main varieties that Yurun markets in China. They both are thin in the peel, red in flesh, and high in sugar content, and also bring higher profits from the growing point of view.” The temperature differences between day and night in April when the fruit was setting led fruit to crack, which resulted in a 30% reduction in the production of the first harvest. The second harvest became available in early May, and the production and quality are excellent.
“The market prices this season are a bit chaotic. The product was sold at only about 1 yuan/half a kilo during the first two weeks and the price only just picked up yesterday. The current market price is about 2 yuan/half a kilo. Due to the low purchase price, farmers who have been growing watermelons for many years are only able to cover their costs, while many first-year growers are suffering losses,” Fan said.
When it comes to market conditions in the coming weeks, Fan said, "I expect market prices to remain stable in the coming week, but it depends on weather conditions."
This year, Yuncheng Yurun Crop Growing Cooperative have been improving their growing techniques and quality control in addition to expanding their sales channels. “We carefully select each watermelon to make sure that we bring consumers high-quality, delicious fruit."
Contact: Fan Zhiqiang
Company: Yuncheng Yurun Crop Growing Specialized Cooperative
Tel.: +86 139 9487 5993
Email: 980936162@qq.com