Guizhou's "Hongburuan" crunchy peaches entered their production season in mid-July. It is reported that due to the previous week of continuous rainfall, some crunchy red peaches will start to be picked in the near future to avoid cracks or fruit drops.
"Hongburuan crunchy peaches are large in size and sweet in taste and are more durable than honey peaches. The production season is from mid-July to mid-August, which can be staggered from the picking season of Sichuan honey peaches and nectarines. There are fewer competing fresh peaches", says Mr. Gu Tao from Sichuan Meitesen Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. who is busy with the new production season of crunchy red peaches.
The orchard of Metson Agriculture is located at the junction of Guizhou and Sichuan. It mainly produces Guizhou crunchy red peaches, Sichuan red crunchy plums, and Sichuan citrus. According to Gu, the local advantage is that the weather is good, the water source is sufficient, and the output and taste of the peaches and plums produced remain stable.
"Crunchy red peaches are relatively large, with a diameter of 70-120mm and a brix of 13-15. The retail price is about ￥16-￥20/kg. For peaches with a diameter of 80mm, the weight of a single fruit is more than 200g. The continuous rainfall in the previous week may cause cracks in the small fruits that are about to ripen, and drops of large fruits, so some of them will be picked soon. Most of the remaining peaches are unaffected and are still being picked in mid-July. Judging from the current situation, the output and quality of peaches this year are at the same level as before."
"In the past, although the quality of crunchy red peaches has long been recognized, the sales volume was not large. At present, peaches are only sold in surrounding areas. Our problem is how to expand the market and connect more channels." Gu talked about the challenges and new attempts this year.
"Our traditional channels include wholesale markets, fruit traders, and online stores. They come to the orchard to harvest fruit during the production season. In the past, the price of fruit harvested fluctuated according to the market conditions at that time, and both parties took on certain risks. This year we tried to come up with a fixed price, that is, a price that will not change during the time period negotiated by both parties. The price can be operated according to the fruit. If the middleman needs fruits of different diameters, they can implement the unified fruit price, which is initially set at ￥3.6/kg; if they only need fruits of a certain diameter, they can implement different prices. Our daily picking volume is estimated to be 10,000kg. We hope to attract more merchants."
In addition, Gu also mentioned relevant information about Sichuan red crunchy plums. According to the introduction, the red crunchy plums will mature in one and a half months. Due to the stable local weather, it is predicted that the production, taste and price of this season's plums should be roughly the same as in the past.
"Regardless of peaches or plums, the weather in the production areas is generally good so far, and the specific changes will depend on the upcoming weather conditions."
Sichuan Meitesen Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. owns more than 26.6 hectares of Sichuan red crunchy plum and orange orchards, each with an output of more than 2.5 million kilograms; the output of peach orchards is about 200,000 to 300,000 kilograms.