The Chinese chestnut market can be roughly divided into sugar-fried chestnuts in winter and iced chestnuts in summer. It is understood that in the just-concluded sugar-fried chestnut sales season, the price of chestnuts rose due to the reduction in production last year, resulting in a lack of demand in the market. Qinhuangdao Yanshan Chestnut Food Co., Ltd. is mainly engaged in the processing and sales of chestnut series products. Manager Yue, responsible for the company's domestic market, introduced the current situation of the chestnut market.
"The sales season of sugar-fried chestnuts runs from October 1st to March of the following year. Last year, due to the weather, the production of chestnuts was reduced by about two-thirds, which doubled the purchase price to the highest in history, resulting in weak market consumption. Moreover, during November and December last year, due to the pandemic, many shopping malls, shops and other major sales places for sugar-fried chestnuts were closed for most of the time. Chestnuts are snacks and are not just in demand. The above reasons lead to slow sales of chestnuts in the market. Even with reduced production, there is still a large amount of surplus inventory. According to Yue, the average purchase price of fresh chestnuts last year was ￥26-￥28/kg, while the purchase price in normal years was about ￥14-￥16/kg.
"Because the storage conditions for fresh chestnuts are relatively harsh, and the remaining inventory is large, many were sold at a low price. For a period of time, the price of chestnuts in the market was chaotic and the quality was uneven. For example, the price of chestnuts after the Spring Festival is about half of that before the festival. In terms of sales, in the time period when 200 tons could be sold in previous years, last year it was less than 60 tons."
After the sugar-fried chestnuts, iced chestnuts are launched on the market. The peak sales season is from May to October. "The iced-chestnut season has just started, and the market is starting to pick up. At present, the sales volume is gradually improving. However, due to the high procurement cost of chestnuts, the market profit margin is very narrow, and even losses. "It is understood that due to the variety of eating methods of iced chestnuts, which can be eaten immediately, baked, or heated in a microwave oven, some shopping malls have been selling them all year round.
Qinhuangdao Yanshan Chestnut Food Co., Ltd. is a professional chestnut processor and seller, mainly engaged in the procurement, storage, processing, sales and export of chestnuts. Products include bagged peeled chestnuts, and frozen chestnuts. Cooperative customers include AEON Group, Sam's Club, and East Buy Holding.