Every September, the honey pomelo naturally becomes a must-have gift for the Mid-Autumn Festival. However, according to the Meizhou Pomelo Industry Association of Meizhou City, about 40% of this year's Meizhou pomelos will not be ready for sale until after the Festival as they are insufficiently ripe.
At present, pomelo fruits are harvested and shipped in large quantities every day, but because the Mid-Autumn Festival this year is much earlier than in previous years, the sales time left for fruit farmers is very limited. In addition, the weather has also affected the ripeness of Meizhou pomelos to a certain extent this year. Some fruits taste sour, the flesh is dry and they cannot meet the market standard for the time being.
This year's Mid-Autumn Festival is more than ten days earlier than last year, and the sales time is shortened. In addition, in the first half of this year, there was a lot of rain and less light. The two months before the harvest saw dry weather, so the proportion of honey pomelos that met the corresponding standards is relatively small. It is expected that the remainder will be picked gradually by mid-to-late September.
It is understood that the overall output of Meizhou pomelos this year is slightly lower than last year, and is expected to be about 500,000 tons. Industry insiders analyzed that, first, because of too much rain during the flowering period, the fruit setting rate was not enough. Second, some growers switched from honey pomelos, or grafted them with other varieties such as Shatian or Thai green pomelos.
In addition to a slight reduction in production, this year's honey pomelo market is also a bit weak compared with the same period last year, and the price at the origin is mostly in the range of 2-3RMB/kg. Mr. Wu, a fruit farmer in Meizhou, Guangdong, believes that after the Mid-Autumn Festival, the price is likely to be lower than 2RMB/kg. If buyers turn to Pinghe, Fujian, another producing area for procurement, the sales pressure will increase.
Source: NFNCBcitrus