Affected by the weather, the ripening period of fresh pears this season is one week earlier than last year, and the export season has also started earlier. The output of fresh pears in many producing areas has decreased this season, and the purchase price remains high. However, due to the drop in sea freight, the demand for fresh pears in overseas markets has not declined, and export volumes in many overseas markets have been higher than last year.
Hebei Xionghan Agricultural Products Inc. is located in Hebei, China's main fresh pear-producing area. The company mainly focuses on exports. According to Manager Li, the sales manager, before the harvest this season, Jinzhou and Xinji, the main producing areas of Hebei Province, experienced a sudden strong hurricane, which had a considerable impact on Crown pears and Ya pears. The fruit drop rate in some areas has reached 50%. Continuous strong winds and heavy rains from May to June have a greater impact on the yield and quality. The ripening period this year is about a week earlier than last year, and the orchards have begun to harvest the first batch from the end of June to the beginning of July.
"In terms of price, the purchase price of Crown pears this year has continued at the high price of the previous season. The purchase price of the first batch of Crown pear in the Hebei production area reached 6.4 RMB /kg, which is about 15% higher than the same period last year. Affected by the market conditions of the previous year, many farmers also carried out small inventories. The price of Crown pear at the origin during this production season only fluctuated slightly when affected by the weather. The harvest price remained high at other times."
"In terms of the market, the high harvest price does not affect the exports. Sea freight has dropped a lot this year, and the harvest period of fresh pears has advanced. Therefore, fresh pears were exported earlier this year than last year, and the volume is very high. So far, the volume of Hebei fresh pears exported to the United States, Canada, the European Union and other countries is higher than last year. However, domestic fresh pear sales have been tepid due to the impact of prices at the origins."
"Compared with the expensive purchase price of Crown pears, the purchase price of Ya pears has been sluggish, 15%-30% lower than last year. As the market demand for Ya pears continues to decline, and the quality is affected by pests and diseases such as pear psyllids and weather such as hail, the quality is damaged, causing merchants to lose confidence in Ya pears, so the purchase price has been falling. Because the purchase price is low, many farmers choose to store the pears themselves."
According to Li, except for Hebei production areas, the quality of Fragrant Pear in Xinjiang production areas this year was affected by the weather and was not as good as in previous years. Pucheng, Shaanxi Province is the main producing area of Su pear. Also affected by weather, the yield is low. As a result, a large number of domestic merchants have come to the Yuncheng area in competition for Gong Pear this year. Therefore, the price of Gong Pear, which was the same as that of Ya pears in previous years, is much higher this year.
Hebei Xionghan Agricultural Products Inc. participated in the Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong from September 6th to 8th. "The exhibition has been unprecedentedly enthusiastic. People queued up early at the entrance every day. Most of the customers came to the exhibition to meet and had lively exchanges about the market situation. We have been meeting with customers non-stop during the two days of the exhibition, and there are many old customers but also new customers. Due to the weather, the third day was canceled, and many of our customers expressed regret." Li said, "We have gained a lot from the exhibition this year. We have reached cooperation intentions with many customers in Europe, America, Asia and other regions, and have signed sales contracts. We will participate in the FRUIT LOGISTICA in Berlin, Germany, in February next year, and look forward to meeting new and old friends again. "