When asked which fruit would be the most lucrative, a decade ago, most people would have answered: "citrus"! Yes, even today, the "myth of getting rich" is deeply ingrained. From the 41.89 million acres of citrus area nationwide, it can be seen that fruit farmers are full of expectations and enthusiasm for citrus, and this enthusiasm is still undiminished. However, on the road to citrus cultivation, some people make a lot of money, while some people lose all their money, what is the reason for this gap?
Regarding the scale of citrus, the current citrus cultivation area in mainland China has reached 41.89 million mu, becoming the largest fruit industry in the country. First of all, there are many varieties of citrus, including sugar oranges, mandarin oranges, rock sugar oranges, rake mandarins, and other popular varieties. Under the guidance of the local government's large-scale planting, the planting area of various varieties has gradually expanded. For experienced fruit growers, it takes 3~5 years for citrus to be harvested normally from planting to normal picking (generally speaking, 3 years to bear fruit, 5 years to enter the high yield period of fruit hanging). Therefore, even with such a huge figure of 41.89 million mu, there is still a large amount of uncounted citrus planting area. For at least the next five years, citrus is in oversupply overall, and production is expected to gradually increase each year. At present, it seems that this is an irreversible trend.
However, the citrus industry also faces some problems, as we all know that the quality of citrus is largely dependent on variety, and the rapid rate of change of citrus varieties poses a serious problem for growers - variety lag. As mentioned earlier, citrus takes 3-5 years to bear fruit for the first time. Due to the wide range of varieties suitable for planting, citrus varieties may still be advantageous for fruit farmers in the first few years, but when it is time to pick and sell, they may face the dilemma of lagging varieties and piling up on the market. That's one of the big reasons why we hear about unsalable citrus every year.
Well, in addition to its high price, there is also a big reason why citrus is so popular, and the threshold for citrus is relatively low compared to other fruit cultivation. However, this also brings with it another problem of citrus cultivation – unprofessional management. I once read an article that said: "Due to capital, technology, management, climate and other reasons, the high-quality fruit of citrus accounts for only 20% of the total output in the past two years." Poor quality and less recognition of varieties in the market, the former determines the price, and the latter determines the number of purchases by fruit merchants. "That's why some people complain every year that citrus is unsalable.
For fruit growers, in the face of this dilemma, they are worried about how their citrus can stand out in the fierce market competition and break the unsalable situation. Personally, I think the following points are worth noting:
Citrus quality needs to be improved urgently:
The first priority for growers is to ensure that the quality of the citrus is truly improved and that the fruit is grown. The increased awareness of citrus in the market has helped to build regional brands (e.g., Gannan navel orange, Danling Zhihuo). Only when the market awareness of citrus is increased will it be easier to sell it at a good price.
Avoid monovarietal cultivation and increase risk resilience:
As a citrus grower, the market is like a gamble every year, and everyone is speculating whether the market will be good this year. Therefore, it is not possible to put all eggs in one basket, and it is necessary to carry out multi-variety cultivation to improve the resistance to market fluctuations (there are already many citrus planting bases in Guangxi, Sichuan and other places that are implementing multi-variety planting).
Break the information asymmetry and actively obtain market information:
Citrus growers have relatively little access to market information and often passively wait for the growers to buy them. I advise growers to make full use of modern Internet tools, such as WeChat communities and e-commerce platforms, to expand the sales channels of citrus. As long as the quality is excellent, the fruit will not be sold. In addition, when the market is unpredictable, growers should sell as soon as possible within a reasonable price range. After all, only when the money is in your own purse is it truly stable.
To sum up, every industry needs practical action, and the citrus industry is no exception. As a grower, the first thing to do is to grow citrus well, and only then can you hope to get a good selling price. Secondly, it is recommended to increase the planting varieties and diversify the planting to reduce the risk. Finally, we must maintain our sensitivity and insight into the market, broaden our sales channels, earn profits with our own high-quality fruits, and win the market!