Entering July, a number of badminton head brands have increased their prices together, with an average increase of more than 20%, and some models have increased by 60%, and topics such as "badminton prices have risen" continue to cause heated discussions on social platforms. In this regard, many badminton enthusiasts said that "they can't play the ball soon". Some golfers ridiculed that badminton has become a new type of "financial product". To this end, the reporter came to Jinping County, Guizhou Province, an important badminton production base in the world, to visit and investigate.
"Badminton" has become a new business card of Jinping County's sports industry, and in 2017, the world's well-known badminton brand Yashilong was introduced, and the industry started from there. Today, the badminton balls produced here account for 10% of the global badminton market share, and more than 100,000 shuttlecocks fly from here to the world every day.
"I've been playing badminton for 5 or 6 years, and badminton itself is a sport with a bit of a high cost. The price has risen, and it takes at least 3-4 a night, which is already a bit unbearable. Citizen Long Anyan said.
With the advent of summer, the 4 badminton courts in Jinping County Gymnasium are full almost every day, and it is the norm to take turns to play. But badminton lovers are concerned about the price increases.
Faced with "Mao is not easy", "I didn't eat the last meal"
At present, in the retail terminal market, the price range of a single badminton is 5 to 15 yuan. Is raw materials in short supply or in high demand? What is the reason for the price increase? When the reporter came to Guizhou Yashilong Sports and Culture Industry Development Co., Ltd., the workers were busy carrying a batch of raw wool from Anhui.
"You can't step on it, you have to handle it gently, gently."
"It's very expensive, so be careful"
Yang Wenhai, a warehouse manager at Guizhou Yashilong Sports and Culture Industry Development Co., Ltd., told reporters that compared with a few years ago, the price of raw wool has risen from more than 200 yuan a kilogram to five or six hundred yuan, about tripled. At the handling site, the reporter also found that even the feathers scattered in the car would be picked up and carefully stored.
"The amount of goods that came today is almost 6,000 kilograms, and as soon as the goods are unloaded, they are directly pulled to the workshop for use. Originally, our warehouse could store 20,000 to 30,000 kilograms a month, but now the raw wool is tight, and the warehouse has zero raw wool inventory. Yang Wenhai said.
Hu Bing, manager of Guizhou Yashilong Sports and Culture Industry Development Co., Ltd., also told reporters that a car of 6 tons of feathers like this is only enough for two or three days, "We really exist most of the time now, this meal is finished, the next meal is not there, and we have to wait until the next time the hair comes in to produce, and I have almost never met it when I entered the industry." Hu Bing said.
The market is in short supply, and the price "rises all boats"
A badminton ball consumes 16 pieces of feathers, while a duck or goose can only provide a maximum of 14 pieces of feathers, a tube of badminton balls requires 192 pieces of feathers, and a bucket of finished balls with loss requires at least 200 pieces of feathers. The production cycle of badminton is nearly 3 months and goes through 38 processes. Upstream raw materials are in short supply, and the downstream market is in short supply.
"We have recently placed orders in Denmark, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand, and this year's sales are actually quite large, from January to June compared to the same period last year, 25% more than the same period last year, and the increase in exports is even greater, almost 40%. This year's output value may reach 400 million. Hu Bing said.
Badminton is one of the most popular sports in China. According to the data, there are about 20 million regular participants in China's badminton sports, and about 150 million ordinary enthusiasts, and last year, the total scale of China's badminton production and sales was as high as 7.9745 billion yuan.
As a leading enterprise in the badminton production industry, Yashilong has a stable procurement channel, although the price of raw materials has increased compared with the past, but the supply is guaranteed. Enterprises are also working on the production process to reduce the waste of raw materials and meet the needs of consumers.
"As a company, it is difficult for you to control the price increase or decrease of raw materials in the market behavior, and we increased all equipment and personnel by 20% at the end of last year." Hu Bing told reporters that Yashilong optimized the process in the production process, treated the tip of the hair, and enhanced the firmness of the bottom of the badminton. Consumers can actually experience better and more durable fighting than before, which is equivalent to indirect and reduced costs. ”
Hu Bing, manager of Guizhou Yashilong Sports and Culture Industry Development Co., Ltd
The "badminton fever" tuyere is making efforts at the breeding end
Back to the upstream breeding end, the duck and goose market is popular, which also drives the enthusiasm of the local people. However, a good market needs to match good breeding technology, and this year alone, Jinping has conducted four on-site training sessions for farmers.
"Breeding and building sheds, the materials are very cheap, the layout of the inside is designed, and the feed and water can be separated. As long as you raise it to a survival rate of more than 75%, you basically have to make money. There is a market for raising geese here, and there is no need to worry about sales. This year, there are more than 10,000 geese raised in three batches, and there are quite a lot of people who want to raise geese. Wei Yan, the person in charge of the base of Jinping Youxing Breeding Co., Ltd., told reporters.
Wu Wei, chairman of Jinping Youxing Breeding Co., Ltd., came to Jinping from Shenzhen last year and took root here to raise geese. He told reporters that since last year, the price of basically goose has hovered around 9 to 10 yuan, and the goose feathers are rising in price, "we basically raise it to the slaughterhouse, divide the goose into white strips and feathers, and give the goose to the lion dragon or down factory, and the meat will enter the market to make roast goose." Wu Wei said.
Before Yashilong built a factory in Jinping, there was no large-scale goose breeding industry here. In order to provide badminton raw materials, Jinping County has set the goose industry as "one county, one industry", and Jinping Ecological Goose Industry Development Co., Ltd. has "broken into" a new track in this industry, and has extended the industrial chain one step forward through goose breeding and goose egg hatching.
"Originally, we used eggs and seedlings from other provinces, and the survival rate was low and the quality was uneven. After we made our own seedlings, the highest survival rate of 98.4% was raised by large farmers. Shen Ruyong, deputy general manager of Guizhou Jinping Agricultural Investment Group Co., Ltd., told reporters that now the enterprise from the season goose to the out-season goose, the daily egg production is about 8,000 pieces, and the direct economic benefits are about 100,000 yuan a day, so as to achieve continuous seedlings throughout the year, and goose eggs are mainly sold to Anhui and Sichuan, which is in short supply.
This year, Jinping County continued to increase the intensity of the prize and subsidy, coordinated the financial connection fund of more than 850 yuan, distributed 210,000 goose seedlings to the people in the form of industrial awards and subsidies, and provided free technical services to connect more people to increase their income.
"Our goal of breeding 1 million commercial geese this year, and in 2023, we will implement the socialized breeding of 400,000 commercial geese, involving 16,000 farmers, and the total number of commercial geese in the county is 574,000." Guo Bijie, director of the Jinping County Agricultural Bureau, said.
How big is the badminton industry? The key is "incrementality"
The extension of a chain depends on the connection between "up" and "down". At present, Yashilong Company plays the role of "chain master", attracting 7 related enterprises such as Yuhui New Materials, Datongli and Xianglong Packaging to settle in Jinping and produce badminton, rackets, bags and socks.
How big an industry can a badminton do? In Jinping Economic Development Zone, the badminton industry accounts for 45% of the total output value, but only one-third of the local wool processed by the Yashilong factory has become a breakthrough in the follow-up incremental development.
"If we calculate the amount of 6 million badminton balls, it needs more than 1.3 billion pieces of badminton every year. According to the current market price of 5 cents a piece, the output value can reach more than 600 million, and the development space is still quite large. Ou Hanfa said that the next step is to build a new wool drying factory and a wool making workshop to meet the demand for wool processing. When the breeding reaches 3 million birds, the introduction of down products related industries to the park. In the near future, a new brand may settle in. Yonex, Victor, and Li Ning are all actively docking with these brands.
Ou Hanfa, Deputy Director of the Management Committee of Jinping County Economic Development Zone
At present, the total output value of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries of Jinping goose industry has reached 580 million yuan, and the industry has driven 25,000 farmers and 61,000 people. With the "goose" as the chain, it will be followed by the enhancement of industrial competitiveness and the promotion of the value chain. But how to seize the "badminton fever" and build a more complete and benign industrial chain ecology? Experts also gave advice.
Li Huahong, Director of the Institute of Urban Economics, Guizhou Academy of Social Sciences
"The development potential is still very impressive. Jinping County's industrial production and supply guarantee capacity is strong, and the demand gap for raw materials consumed by Yashilong is still quite large. The ability of processing and transformation should be strong, the ability of scientific and technological innovation should be strong, the ability of industrial extension should be strong, the ability of sustainable development should be strong, and the ability to help the people increase their income and get rich should be strong. Li Huahong, director of the Institute of Urban Economics of the Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, told reporters that at the same time, it is necessary to deal with all kinds of relationships, such as the relationship between economic benefits and ecological benefits and social benefits, taking into account the problem of ecological carrying capacity. It is also necessary to properly handle the relationship between the government and the market, and in this process, the government must provide a good supply of public services and must let the market play a decisive role in the allocation of resources.
Reporter: Zhu Bin, Wan Hao, Xing Yuqing