How much is white jade yam per jin? 2017 price market analysis
As the saying goes, eating yam is better than eating tonic medicine. Yam is a seasonal food in winter right now, with the benefits of preventing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, lowering blood pressure, and calming the mind. According to feedback from growers, as yam planting volume increases year after year, supply exceeds demand, and at one point there was even a situation of unsalable stock. Overall, throughout 2016, the yam market was sluggish.
As the Spring Festival approaches, vegetables and fruits often take advantage of this momentum to raise prices. However, according to the reporter's understanding, at present, yam prices have not seen a large festival-related rebound and remain in a sluggish state. So, what are the reasons for yam prices hovering at a low point? Why is the Spring Festival effect on the yam market less influential than in previous years?
In Liaocheng, Shandong, a main yam-producing area, grower Liu Xinju has been growing yams for more than 20 years. The cooperative has more than 20,000 mu of yams. Recalling the 2016 yam market, he admitted that it was basically in a sluggish state. From mid-2016, yam prices fell to about 1 yuan per jin, and at present prices have rebounded somewhat, rising by 6 to 7 mao.
The current market is not that good either. It is now about 1.5 yuan. The slightly better ones now are a bit higher in price. In mid-last year it was a little over 1 yuan. At the end of 2015 it rose to more than 2 yuan. Now the price just cannot go up. In 2001 there was the lowest price, about 8 mao. Now the lowest is also 1.2 to 1.3 yuan.
According to Liu Xinju, when the yam price is 1.6 to 1.7 yuan, the cooperative is neither making money nor losing money, which counts as breaking even. As usual every year, yam prices rise during the Spring Festival period. For the already-arrived 2017, growers remain optimistic.
Grower: It will definitely rise during the New Year. Generally, during our New Year, yam prices will rise by one zhang, right? Yes, generally shipments go out on the first and second day of the lunar new year.
The reporter learned during interviews that the price of ordinary white jade yam began to show signs of decline starting in December, and the price of large-grade yam also declined in mid-to-late December. In January, the price of large-grade white jade yam in main producing areas was 2.07 yuan/jin, and the average price of large ordinary goods was about 1.65 yuan/jin. At present, farmers in Liaocheng, Shandong, Heze, Shandong, and Shangqiu, Henan still hold a relatively large amount of yam supply. According to Lyu Lin, an analyst at Zhuochuang Information, as the year-end approaches, farmers are actively selling, but market demand has decreased, and farmers are mostly selling at small discounts, causing yam prices to decline and adjust.
Lyu Lin: The main reasons for the decline in yam prices are as follows. First, demand has weakened. Most cold-storage buyers had basically completed their earlier purchases, and their purchasing sentiment weakened. The reduction in cold-storage procurement volume slowed the pace of shipments from yam producing areas, and white jade yam prices accordingly adjusted downward within a narrow range. Second, the supply volume is still relatively large, farmers are actively selling, and they are selling at a discount. As supply in producing areas decreases, most farmers are unwilling to sell hand-selected goods and mainly sell ordinary goods, so prices of good goods have declined.
According to the reporter's understanding, in the past two years, against the backdrop of low yam prices, yams can be bought everywhere across the country, whether in large and medium cities or in township markets. Yam has shed the glamorous exterior it once had and flown into ordinary households. Analyst Lyu Lin said that this year's Spring Festival holiday effect was generally not obvious for the vegetable market, vegetable prices were generally weak, and the momentum for price increases was insufficient. White jade yam was no exception.
Lyu Lin: The approach of this year's Spring Festival did not bring favorable news for yam sales. In previous years, the demand pull during the Spring Festival was relatively obvious, but this year the Spring Festival pull was not strong, market demand did not expand, farmers in producing areas still had a relatively large supply, and yam prices continued to run weakly.
The market was already poor before the New Year, and in addition, in yam-producing areas such as Heze and Liaocheng in Shandong and Henan, a relatively large amount of supply was left to be dug after the New Year, with about 1/4 of the volume left. In Lyu Lin's view, the later market is not optimistic.
Lyu Lin: It is expected that after the New Year, the weak price trend will continue. If there is a sharp temperature drop and rain or snow after the New Year, it may provide some support for yam price increases. Otherwise, it will be difficult for yam prices to see the sharp rise seen last year.
Analyst Lyu Lin believes that the main problems currently existing in the yam industry are, first, excessive supply. Farmers blindly expanded planting, and the increase in yam planting volume led to an excessive supply, with supply exceeding demand and great sales pressure. Second, the quality of supply needs to be improved, management needs to be strengthened, and the proportion of high-quality supply needs to be further increased. It is suggested that growers improve both quality and quantity.
Lyu Lin: It is suggested that farmers not blindly expand planting. They can discuss planting plans collectively by joining cooperatives. In addition, by joining cooperatives, they can also achieve unified management, improve farmers' planting techniques, increase the high-quality rate of supply, build and give play to the brand effect of yam, take the path of premiumization, and broaden sales channels.