Heavy rainfall and flooding across southern China are having a major impact on the country’s fresh produce trade, according to local industry sources.
Nine provinces – including Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi Guangdong, Guizhou and Yunnan – have endured consistent downpours over the past two weeks, and more heavy rainfall is forecast in the coming days.
The floods, described by China’s Civil Affairs Ministry as “the worst in decades”, have impacted heavily on production of vegetables and tropical fruits in southern China, especially in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, according to one Shenzhen-based importer. “Leafy greens are being sourced from northern China to fulfil demand in the south, and vegetable exports from southern China have been hampered by increased cost prices, which are 20-50 per cent higher than normal due to the additional cost of inland transportation,” said the source. “Watermelon and lychee crops have been dramatically reduced by the rain.”
Lionel Liang of Zhxing Runfeng told Fruitnet that the firm’s lychee export plans had been aborted due to inferior quality caused by excessive rainfall, and to a drop in the lychee market price versus last year. “The bad weather has also dampened overall market demand, so our fruit imports have been affected,” he said.
Distribution has also been disrupted as the torrential rains have damaged roads and bridges, preventing fruit from being delivered to destinations on schedule, noted Wang Jian of Kingo Guangzhou.
Goldland’s Kevin Chen said that fruit trading volumes at Guangzhou’s Jiangnan market were down, as the rainfall had reduced the number of buyers visiting from other regions. But the Shenzhen-based source argued that the reduction to supplies of domestic tropical fruits could boost import demand at Jiangnan and curtail the sales lull that imported fruits usually suffer between now and August.
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