Orders drop by more than 80%: a farmer in Urumqi has 2,300 barred rock chickens
Yaxin Net News (Reporter Guo Ling) The order was supposed to be 100 barred rock chickens a day, but the daily purchase volume dropped by more than 80%, and the sale of the remaining 2,300 barred rock chickens has become the biggest worry for Li Gui and his wife.
Li Gui, 40, lives in Team 7, Bajiahu Village, Dabancheng District, Urumqi, and has raised barred rock chickens for 5 years, raising two or three batches each year, 500 birds per batch. Because the volume was small, sales were never a worry. He never expected that a large order he took this year would run into problems.
In July this year, through a friend's introduction, Li Gui agreed to supply barred rock chickens to a newly opened restaurant in Urumqi. “We agreed verbally that once the chickens were about 4 months old, we would provide 100 a day, so in August we airfreighted 3,000 newly hatched chicks back from Chongqing to raise,” said Wang Xiaorui, Li Gui's wife.
Li Gui has 70 mu of chicken farm and usually feeds the chickens corn and cordyceps. “The order volume this time was large, and we were especially happy. From the chickens' feed to the time they spent in the sun each day, we arranged everything very carefully,” Li Gui said. Now, because the partner restaurant's sales are low, the order has dropped from 100 a day to just over ten a day.
“By our count, the orders have dropped by more than 80% a day.” Li Gui said, “We had no choice but to advertise on WeChat. WeChat sales plus orders came to nearly 700 sold, and now 2,300 are left.”
Li Gui said that if the remaining chickens cannot be sold, he will lose 120,000 this year. “One chicken sells for 120 yuan at retail, and for large quantities the price can be discounted to 100 yuan each. Customers who need barred rock chickens can contact us. Ours are free-range and absolutely all-natural. If customers are not reassured, they can come to the chicken farm to see for themselves,” Li Gui said.”
The reporter learned that the current market price for barred rock chickens is 120 yuan to 150 yuan each.