How much was a jin of chili peppers in 2017, and will the price fall?
As the dog days of summer arrive, everyone pays especially close attention to the price of chili peppers. How much is a jin of chili peppers? Will the price of chili peppers fall in 2017? The main producing areas for chili peppers: in parts of Shaanxi, Ningxia, central and western Gansu, northern Chongqing, and the southern Xinjiang Basin, the maximum temperature can reach 37-39°C. In such hot weather, vegetable prices have risen one after another, yet chili peppers have bucked the trend.
What caused the price of chili peppers, which had been running at a high level this year, to fall? How will the trend for chili peppers develop later?
On the 16th, a reporter visited a large supermarket in Shijingshan District, Beijing, and found that recently, affected by sustained high temperatures, vegetable prices had risen sharply. Yet sales of chili peppers, whose prices had previously been expected to rise, were mediocre and no longer as brisk as before. Will the price of chili peppers really fall in 2017?
Supermarket salesperson: Chili pepper sales have not been good recently, but the price has not dropped much. Hot peppers are 3 to 5 mao cheaper than before, and the price of bell peppers has not changed. Stock has just been moving slowly. Goods brought in fresh in the morning had still not sold much by evening, and many had wilted. I also reported to the market that we should stock a little less chili peppers recently.
Apart from fresh peppers, the price of dried chili peppers this year has also been full of twists and turns. How much is a jin of chili peppers? Li Tao, an analyst at the Baida Zhougudui market, said:
Li Tao: In the early stage of the market season, dried chili pepper prices rose all the way. Later, daily trading volume in the producing areas also fell by about half. Weakened demand also brought panic to stock holders. Taking Jinxiang in Shandong as an example, short-term storage traders in Jinxiang were active in selling, and under conditions of oversupply, dried chili pepper prices were weak.
The analyst said that in the earlier period there was a certain bubble in the dried chili pepper market. Many people had not figured out the chili pepper market situation clearly, and following the trend to buy was widespread. Due to the impact of supply-demand imbalance, combined with the relatively high temperatures since the start of summer, which reduced consumption, dried chili pepper prices had already fallen back to a more rational 5.7-6.2 yuan per jin. She predicted that the future market for dried chili peppers would still be weak, and advised buyers investing in chili peppers to remain rational.
Li Tao: The current continuous high temperatures, on the one hand, have prevented loss of dried chili peppers, while on the other hand, citizens' consumer demand has shifted toward mediocrity. With low chili pepper loss, trading in dried chili peppers in the producing areas has entered a “dormant period”. In addition, as the dryness of chili peppers has gradually increased recently, farmers are also more willing to sell. Under conditions of oversupply, the dried chili pepper market still lacks favorable factors, and short-term dried pepper prices are expected to remain weak.
Market trading is weakening, and at the other end of the market, chili pepper growers have also begun to ensure their income through various methods. Wu Guikai, a chili pepper grower in Linying County, Henan, has been growing red chili peppers for seven or eight years. This year he planted 16 or 17 mu of red chili peppers, with a yield of 700 jin per mu. Wu Guikai told the reporter that drying fresh peppers into dried red chili peppers brings a higher price than fresh peppers, and profits are still considerable.
Wu Guikai: I had expected it to be cheaper, but this year we encountered natural disaster, mainly rain, and the chili peppers went bad. Last winter the price was the highest. Now the highest is 6.4 yuan per jin, and this price has fallen compared with earlier. Selling now at this price of 6.4 to 6.5 is fine, because at this time the chili peppers are not very dry yet, and the price is acceptable.
Regarding the practices of the broad community of chili pepper growers, Li Tao, an analyst at the Baida Zhougudui market, also offered suggestions:
Li Tao: Because dried chili pepper prices have risen and fallen this year, many farmers cannot figure out the market rules clearly. However, judging from the chili pepper stock levels and market sales situation over the past half year, the profit from growing chili peppers is still substantial. It is estimated that in the second half of this year, the chili pepper planting area will expand again on the previous basis. By then, the contradiction of oversupply will become prominent, and dried pepper prices may hit a new low. Farmers are advised to arrange planting plans reasonably, and by no means blindly expand the planting area or follow the trend in planting.