Why is it hard for pineapple growers to make big money despite rising pineapple prices?
Recently, pineapples have finally fetched a good price, with the high price reaching 1.8 yuan per jin. On April 1, the author toured Xuwen County, a major pineapple-growing county, and found that although pineapple prices were good, the growers could not smile.
Before the Spring Festival, Xuwen pineapples had already begun to be harvested, but pineapple prices had never been able to pick up, with the purchase price for better pineapples generally around 0.6 yuan per jin. A boss surnamed Deng, who has been engaged in pineapple cultivation and trading in Qujie for more than 20 years, told the author that the second half of last year was exactly the pineapple growing season, and due to the impact of typhoons, the pineapples were basically damaged, so this year's pineapple harvest was basically reduced in both yield and income, with a yield reduction of about 3,000 jin per mu. Even for well-managed pineapples, which used to yield up to 10,000 jin per mu, the yield now reaches only about 6,000 jin per mu, while the yield of ordinary pineapples is generally around 4,000 jin per mu. He said that this year he had more than 100 mu of pineapples to harvest, and some time ago he picked about 60 mu of pineapples; when prices were high, large fruits fetched 0.9 yuan per jin, while small fruits of less than one jin fetched only a bit more than 0.3 yuan per jin. This price did not make Boss Deng happy: although he had rented the land relatively early, having rented land more than 10 years ago when the land rent was only 450 yuan per mu per year, even so, after careful budgeting, it was only enough to break even. He reported that if land were rented in recent years for planting, the land rent would reach about 1,300 yuan per mu per year, and with such costs one could only lose money. Boss Deng counted on his fingers for the author: pineapples take almost two years to harvest, and the rent for one mu of land for two years alone takes 2,600 yuan; including costs such as plowing and fertilizing, one mu of land costs at least around 4,000 yuan.
Pineapple is the main industry of the townships in eastern Xuwen, and most farmers in Xuwen rely on it to make a living. Last year's super typhoon dealt a heavy blow, and the reduced yield and income of pineapples had already hurt the growers' hearts, while the continued slump in the pineapple market made the growers bleed even more. Recently, pineapples have finally fetched a good price, and the growers finally breathed a sigh of relief. It is understood that smaller fruits can also sell for about 1 yuan per jin, better fruits reach about 1.6 yuan per jin, and when prices are good they reach 1.8 yuan per jin.
This price let Boss Deng breathe a sigh of relief. A few days ago, a buyer ordered more than 10 mu of his pineapples at a purchase price of 1.6 yuan per jin, and for growers this price is already a rare good price. The author toured Qujie Town, a major pineapple-growing town, and found that due to the sharp reduction in yield and income, although a good price had arrived, the growers could not smile.
It is understood that this is already the peak period of pineapple harvesting. At a pineapple purchasing point located at Yugonglou in Qujie Town, the author learned that a local buyer surnamed Chen purchased as many as 7 large trucks' worth of pineapples in a single day.
On the road from Xuwen county town to Xiayang Town, one could see along the way the scene of growers picking pineapples in the sloping fields known as the “sea of pineapples”, with large trucks bearing license plates from different provinces driving directly to the fields to purchase pineapples, a bustling scene. Boss Deng introduced that this year's pineapples can be picked until around June, and with the arrival of Qingming Festival, the harvestable pineapples will decrease day by day.