In early March, on the Fragrant Honey Mountain in Lutian, golden loquats are hung on the branches, and the first fruit of early spring in Lingnan is ripe, and the seductive aroma awakens the whole spring. The reporter walked into Conghua Lutian to explore the new ideas for the sale of agricultural products on the mountain during the epidemic.
Loquat production increased by one-third year-on-year
The altitude of Conghua Lutian is relatively high compared to guangzhou city, the temperature difference between day and night is large, and the air humidity is also high, which is suitable for planting loquat. Fragrant loquat won the national green food certification in 2017, and in 2019 won the Guangdong famous brand product, walking into the loquat garden with attractive aroma, you will find that these are not false names.
After the rain, the smoke of Xiangmi Mountain is swirling, 600 acres of loquat trees, 450 acres of hanging fruits, and the yellow fruits between the lush greenery are particularly eye-catching. There are four types of loquats throughout the forest – the Loquat of the Morning Bell No. 6, the White Crystal Loquat, the Loquat in liberation, and the Loquat of the Great Five Star. Control the annual pruning time, loquat fruit can be divided into early, middle, late, late ripening four batches, under normal circumstances, the fruit ripening period is mid-February to early May, this year by the climate, the first batch of loquat in early March ushered in the picking period.
Loquat matures in four stages
During the Spring Festival, the early ripening loquat fruit grows to about 4 ripe, and the workers begin to bagging, so as to prevent cracking and insect pests. Look closely at the surface of the loquat, you can observe a fine layer of fluff, that is, the loquat comes with its own "protective layer", in case of rain, it is easy to fall off, so the bagging has a protective effect on the loquat. On March 8 this year, the early ripening fruit will grow to more than 9 ripe and have sufficient sweetness before it can be picked. According to Deng Qiaoyang, the person in charge of the loquat garden, there was little rain during the loquat flowering period last year, so this year's loquat harvest, the output increased by one-third over the same period last year, and it is expected to produce more than 330 tons of fruit this year.
Under the epidemic, agricultural products are looking for a new way out of sales
Loquat harvest, but in the face of the epidemic, orchards that were originally picked by tourists as the main sales channel have a new trick - online sales. Pan Xiai, sales manager of Xiangmi Mountain, introduced that this year, affected by the epidemic, loquat sales turned to e-commerce, tour guides turned into micro-businessmen, helping to sell loquat on the Internet, and express mailing can be delivered in Guangdong Province. As of March 4, 50 boxes of loquat orders totaling 150 kilograms had been received. In addition, the orchard itself also makes processed products such as dried loquat and loquat wine, so that a batch of loquat can be consumed. Pan Xi'ai introduced that at present, she is still actively contacting resources and striving to process loquat into loquat paste and loquat candy, extend the sales period of loquat, and broaden the sales channels of loquat.
On the other side, The Fragrant Honey Strawberry Farm has also chosen online sales, strawberry farms mainly sell strawberries through door-to-door delivery, and the scope of distribution is Conghua District, and the employees of Strawberry Farm are converted to delivery staff. Previously, the strawberry farm was mainly based on tourists coming to pick, and now it is turned to online sales, and the person in charge of the orchard said that the sales volume is similar to the same period, there is no slow sales, but the price has dropped from the original 30 yuan / jin to 18 yuan / jin.
Orchid sales at the orchid planting base in Guifeng Village, Lutian, have also been affected by the epidemic. Zhang Tao of Guangzhou Shenghui Horticulture Co., Ltd. introduced that the planting base adopts intelligent greenhouses for planting, and there are phalaenopsis orchids all year round. Previously, orchids were mainly wholesale to Lingnan flower shops, flower markets and exports to Southeast Asian countries, and there were also cooperation with e-commerce for retail, and the proportion of e-commerce retail accounted for 10% of total sales. Affected by the epidemic this year, during the Spring Festival to the end of February, the sales volume of Phalaenopsis orchids was 30% less than that of the same period last year, and the price was reduced by an average of 10%-20%.
According to the person in charge of the planting base, some of the previously unsalable orchids, some of which are good seedlings, will be replanted; some of them have been disposed of. In March, 30,000 Phalaenopsis orchids are expected for sale, and the market is gradually recovering, with less than one-third of sales as of March 7. The above-mentioned person in charge plans to expand the shipment volume of e-commerce retail.