Grape orders plummet by 70 percent, small farmers call for bulk group purchases by companies and communities

 

 

Grapes hang heavy on the vines, yet farmers in Dacun, Changhua pick them with great anxiety. After the domestic pandemic alert was raised to Level 3, people's consumption shifted from physical stores to online, causing orders from restaurants and fruit shops to drop; when "Upstream and Downstream" actually asked farmers' associations and farmers in the production areas, it found that grapes in the Dacun area are mostly sold directly by farmers, with a small portion sold on their behalf by the farmers' association. With school closures, staggered work shifts and unstable logistics and delivery conditions, orders have fallen sharply for both the farmers' association and the farmers, with farmers' orders down by more than 70 percent. Last year's warm winter also caused grapes in Nantou to mature early, so the grapes from both areas clashed head-on, which is quite unfavorable for sales.

At present, the Dacun Farmers' Association and the Puxin Farmers' Association in Changhua are helping farmers sell grapes. Lai Ximou, director of the extension department of the Dacun Farmers' Association in Changhua County, said that companies and community buildings are welcome to make group purchases of grapes; for large orders, the farmers' association will send a dedicated truck directly, free from logistics restrictions.

 

 

Changhua's grape season clashes with the pandemic, and also with flooding

Changhua is a major grape center in the country, with a planting area of about 1,200 hectares, about half of the national total, with the most planted in Xihu Township and Dacun Township. Huang Songqin, section chief of the agricultural affairs section of the Changhua County Agriculture Department, said that grapes in Xihu Township are mostly grown in greenhouses and are harvested earlier, with the season from February to the end of April, belonging to early-spring grapes; grapes in Dacun Township are mainly grown in the open field, with the production period starting in May and continuing through July.

 

It is now exactly the season for Dacun grapes. Lai Ximou, director of the extension department of the Dacun Farmers' Association, said that in the past the farmers' association helped sell only a small portion, and 60 to 70 percent of grapes in Dacun Township are sold directly by farmers; Wu Guoming, a farmer in the 10th production and marketing group for Dacun grapes, also said that those who send grapes to auction are all large farmers with a certain scale of planting, while farmers in Dacun Township are mostly small farmers, whose sales are direct home delivery to consumers, and only occasionally, when there is excess production or unsold stock, do they sell at low prices to wholesalers.

 

"At present, only half of Dacun Township's grapes have been sold, yet farmers in the production area are facing worries about both production and sales." Lai Ximou explained that Dacun grapes are expected to be harvested until mid-July, but recent days of heavy rain have flooded some vineyards, affecting the root development of the grape plants and causing fruit cracking, and this year's sales situation is very different from before. At this time in previous years, orders for farmers and the farmers' association were continuous, "but now the farmers' association's orders alone are down by more than 30 percent."

 

Farmers' orders down 70 percent, and logistics are also blocked

Farmers' association orders have decreased, and the situation for farmers is equally unpromising. "Compared with previous years, our production and marketing group's orders are down 70 percent." Wu Guoming said helplessly that in the past the main customer group for home delivery was group purchases by companies and schools. Through large orders, a whole vehicle could be chartered to lower shipping costs, and the goods arrived fresh, while preferential prices could also increase customers' willingness to buy. This year the pandemic has closed schools and put companies on staggered work shifts, so order volumes have fallen sharply.

 

Wu Guoming said that the advantage of small farmers' home delivery is that prices do not need to be affected by wholesalers or auction prices, and selling prices are very stable, but this year they cannot find customers for home delivery, business at traditional markets is sluggish, wholesalers have not come to the production area to look for goods, and channels such as supermarkets also seem unwilling to increase procurement from the production area. "We waited more than 5 months for the harvest, only to run into the pandemic and flooding. Farmers are now extremely anxious and under great sales pressure."

 

If there are no large group orders, can't individual orders for grapes also relieve the sales pressure? "The problem is that there are no orders, and logistics don't want to deliver scattered orders either." Wu Guoming said that the production and marketing group used to cooperate with HCT Logistics, but after logistics capacity became overloaded recently, logistics operators were no longer willing to accept low-temperature home delivery parcels. As for the Council of Agriculture recently asking Chunghwa Post and Kerry TJ Logistics to provide support, Wu Guoming said bluntly that grapes require low-temperature home delivery, Chunghwa Post can only deliver at room temperature, and Kerry TJ Logistics currently takes 7 days for shipments to arrive, "grapes sent for 7 days will all turn into grape juice."

 

Nantou grapes mature early, and there are many fruits on the market, making competition fierce

At present, the Dacun grape season in Changhua still has three weeks to go. Wu Songyuan, director of the extension department of the Xihu Township Farmers' Association, said that last year's warm winter caused grapes in Nantou and Taichung's Xinshe to mature early, and now they are clashing head-on with Changhua grapes. In addition, many fruits are also in season, making competition quite fierce. Grapes are relatively high-priced, so it is hard to increase the frequency of consumer purchases; even for group purchases, it is now extremely difficult because of pandemic prevention concerns about gathering.

 

Organize a group to buy grapes, and with direct delivery by a dedicated truck from the production area, there is no fear of logistics delays

If they want to help Changhua grapes get through this difficult time, what should consumers do? Huang Songqin explained that at present both the Dacun Farmers' Association and the Puxin Farmers' Association buy grapes from farmers, and consumers can organize groups to buy grapes from the farmers' associations. "As long as the order volume is large enough, the production area will send a dedicated truck directly, so there is no need to be constrained by logistics." Small orders still have to rely on logistics.