Over the past few years, the market of Qiuyue pears has been good. Since 2015, prices have been ramping up, grown from a little over 1 yuan per half a kilo to more than 2 yuan, and now prices have gone past the 3 yuan mark. After several years of market speculation and artificial ripening, the 2019-2020 season crop went past the 3 yuan mark. So why did the price of this variety continue to rise?
First of all, market awareness of this variety has been increasing. A hybrid of Fengshui pear and Huangjing pear, Qiuyue was introduced from Japan to China ten years ago, and large-scale planting began seven or eight years ago. The plant starts to bear fruit three years after it’s planted, so the pears began to circulate in the Chinese market 5-6 years ago. At the time, the pears were natural without too much human intervention, and their flavor was preserved to the maximum extent. Therefore, the variety had a huge response from consumers after it was marketed.
Secondly, the demand for this variety exceeds supply. In the spring of 2020, a cold snap and hails led the main production areas of this already highly well-known variety such as the Jiaodong Peninsula and Hebei to cut their production by more than 30%, which undoubtedly drove prices up once again. Moreover, in order to seize market opportunities and obtain good prices, human intervention, such as applying gibberellin lanolin ointment on the pears, results in the crop to become available 20 days earlier.
Judging from the current market, Qiuyue pears will continue to have a strong market until the first crop becomes available next year.
Source: Dong'e Golden Pear