On the afternoon of august 19, in front of the watermelon stand in hangzhou's vernacular fruit market, several customers watched the price plate whisper。
Trades in the vernacular fruit market. Watch it
It was almost september, and in the early part of june it was worth a pound of “8424 watermelon”, which was now rising to $6 per pound in some retail fruit stores. From “freedom to eat the melon” at a lower wholesale price than a few pounds to double the price, the price of the watermelon fluctuated this year as if it were “a roller coaster”. Monitoring data from the ministry of agriculture and rural development show that between 9 august and 15 august, the average wholesale price of watermelon increased overall, from $3. 10 to $3. 41 per kilogram, an increase of 10 per cent over the same period last year of $2. 61, or 30. 7 per cent over the same period。
On 19 august, tide journalists visited a number of fruit wholesale markets and fruit shops in hangzhou to learn about price trends in the watermelon market this year and consumption by citizens。
Wholesale prices doubled. "this is not cheap."
At the mandarin fruits company, a variety of fruit stalls run by each other, with scavengers and wholesalers travelling around, the stall owners were busy in front of their stalls, and the carts and electric bottles were carrying fruits in, out of and out of the booths。
At the corner of the wholesale market, a watermelon stand is particularly visible, with the sign in red pen saying, "looking at you, the pickle is you, the watermelon is waiting for you." almost 20,000 pounds of watermelon arrived in the morning, in front of the shop, and was stacked in four layers by the owner, li, according to size. The watermelon is so full, it's labeled as "pretty melon 8424"。
Mr li's melon stand. Watch it
Mr. Lee has been in the watermelon business for 22 years, selling a wide variety of watermelon species, but he has found that it still sells best, and now he specializes in it. “in june and july, it came from chongming island in shanghai, and since august it has been sold from jiangsu salt city.”
Boss li noted that the wholesale price of the watermelon has experienced large fluctuations this year, ranging from $5 to $2 per pound. “this is the largest floating year, with the cheapest price of 50 and 60 cents, now rising to two, three and four times the price. It's the cheapest one in the past."
The watermelon on the booth arrived in the morning and was picked up for retail, offering a “sex price” option for the public outcast, at a price of $2 per pound, and a larger product at a retail price of $3 per pound. However, the price of the “8424” label, which is issued to fruit shops, is $2 per pound, and some fruit shops come directly for hundreds of pounds. “we buy our own cars directly from the place of production, and we save the middleman's fees, so the price is slightly lower than the rest of the stalls.” boss li stressed。
Boss lee's fine watermelon is marked with 8482. Wang qixin
According to mr. Li, the main reason for price volatility in watermelon is uneven supply and demand in the market and unusual weather. In the early days of the watermelon market, the market was well supplied, while the may-june monsoon season led to lower temperatures and reduced consumer demand for watermelon prices. As summer temperatures surged to over 40 degrees, watermelon demand increased and prices rose。
In addition, high temperatures this year have affected watermelon production. “the production for this period was relatively low, and the shipment came from four households, 120 acres, with less than 20,000 pounds of watermelon.” boss li mentioned that the production of watermelons was restricted under extreme weather conditions and that the fall in production had contributed directly to the increase in prices。
Even after the fall, the watermelon was sold this year. Slide
According to data published by the information centre of the ministry of agriculture and rural development, watermelon prices fell significantly in june of this year, while the market showed a marked upward trend between the end of july and the end of august when the watermelon was listed。
The wholesale market for agricultural products fluctuates weekly in watermelon prices. Wang qixin
The demand for watermelons by the public remains strong, as found by tide journalists in the wholesale market. A close to 80-year-old customer told reporters that, traditionally, cold watermelon should be reduced after autumn, but because of the heat that continued this year, he and his companion used to eat a watermelon for two days. Another customer stated that his family was not particularly concerned with the species of watermelon, as long as it was sweet, and preferred to buy red-skinned gills, “i don't like yellow because yellow is not always sweet enough”
Mr. Li also pointed out that, in general, watermelon sales generally declined after the fall, but the high temperature continued in the south this year, with no significant decline in watermelon sales。
Tide journalists then arrived at a chain of fruit shops around 20 flats near the gate. The large card “big watermelon 1. 98 per pound” is at the door of the shop. Twenty minutes in the shop, journalists found that customers who bought watermelons were in constant contact. The vast majority of customers are selected from the booths, which require half or a quarter of the watermelon, and when the counter is closed, the clerks are asked to cut the boxes. A customer at the scene told the journalist that the whole food was not finished, that the melon was to be kept overnight and that half of it would just be finished。
"the watermelon is the best fruit in the store." there are currently three watermelons sold in the store: 1. 98 cents for the northeast sugar king, 4. 5 cents for the northeast and 5. 5 cents for the sweetest. The clerks remember that this year, when the northeast sugar king was the cheapest, it was 0. 99 cents lower than 3. 98 per pound。
A watermelon sold in a fruit shop near the gate. Wang qixin
“the price of watermelon has increased.” according to shopkeepers, weather-affected watermelon areas have been affected by too high temperatures, leading to a decline in production and, in addition, some of the sites have been affected by flooding, causing serious damage to the watermelon fields and a decline in watermelon supplies. He told the reporters that yesterday, when he sold around 40 gills, the northeast sugar king was bigger, one was about 30 pounds, and yesterday he sold more than 20, “the best sells now is the northeast sugar king, because it's the highest price for money.”
How can the market alleviate the volatility of watermelon prices
Why did watermelon prices continue to rise at the end of july? Xiafan ting, associate professor, faculty of economics and management, zhejiang university of agriculture and forestry, said that, first of all, weather anomalies were an important cause, and the current year had been characterized by frequent rains, hails and other weather events, which had affected the cultivation and production of watermelons. Second, the rise in planting costs has also pushed up prices, including increased labour, fertilizer and transport costs. In addition, this year market demand was strong, especially in the summer, when high-temperature weather led to a surge in watermelon demand, further pushing prices。
“the prices of watermelons will gradually decline after the fall of the previous year, but this year the market is in high demand because of continued high temperatures and the number of people who eat watermelons.” at present, watermelons in the provinces of jiangsu, anhui, hunan and shandong are in the final stages of being supplied mainly from the gansu, xinjiang and north-eastern regions, where the supply of watermelons is relatively small, where market demand drives up the purchase price of the land, and where wholesale and retail prices rise。
A watermelon stand in the wholesale market. Wang qixin
She told tide reporters that, at this time in previous years, some of the production areas also had “tails” of watermelons, which could alleviate supply and demand pressures to a certain extent. However, this year, affected by weather events such as rain, hail and so on, the quantity and quality of these “tails” have declined, and they are prone to bubbles, overcooked melons and many fruit traders are reluctant to take the risk of acquiring them. In addition, last year's cheap watermelon prices led to a decrease in the incentives for fruit-farming and a decrease in the area under cultivation in some production areas this year. Thanks to the combined effect of these factors, the price of watermelons has fluctuated considerably this year。
In order to mitigate the high price volatility of watermelons, xiafantine suggested that regulation could be made in several ways: “first, the upgrading of weather forecasting and agricultural technical services to help the guaraní better cope with unusual weather. Second, a better system of agricultural stocks and flows could be established, with reserves placed in time for market supply shortages, and prices flatened. In addition, governments could encourage the development of futures markets for agricultural products, which could help to hedge price risks for farmers and market participants through financial instruments.”
With regard to future price trends for watermelons, xiafantine indicated that demand for watermelons was expected to decline as the weather cooled, while the central listing of watermelons in the middle and late stages would increase market availability, thus putting some downward pressure on prices. At the same time, however, owing to the overall climate and cost factors this year, the price decline may not be significant, and overall it will remain relatively high。
