Bobai water spinach successfully sold far and wide: Wang Youjun becomes a bulk vegetable broker

Vegetable farmers pack water spinach for export sale

Early in the morning on May 1, responding to the need of a vegetable grower surnamed Wu in Hengxian to expand planting, Bobai broker Wang Youjun once again sent out a batch of Bobai water spinach seedlings by long-distance bus consignment.

Wang Youjun, from Datangdong Village, Guantian Village, Bobai Town, is over 30 years old this year and is a local fresh vegetable broker in Bobai. Every day he finalizes orders by phone, QQ and WeChat, purchases fresh vegetables from local vegetable farmers at guaranteed prices according to customers' needs, then simply packages them and sends them to all parts of the country by long-distance bus consignment. At the same time, he is also a voluntary promoter of transplanting Bobai water spinach. Through his vigorous promotion, Bobai water spinach has now been successfully transplanted in Nanning, Guangdong and other places.

A vegetable farmer transforms into a bulk vegetable broker

Water spinach, also called water spinach, and the water spinach produced in Bobai has the most authentic quality and the most genuine taste. In 2011, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine approved "Bobai water spinach (Bobai water spinach)" as a geographical indication product, formally implementing protection for this water spinach with a long planting history and unique flavor. Wang Youjun's hometown, Datangdong, Guantian Village, Bobai Town, is a standardized production demonstration base for Bobai water spinach, with a planting area of more than 800 mu, and almost every household grows water spinach.

Because they live on the outskirts of the city, Wang Youjun's elders all made a living by growing water spinach, and he himself is a vegetable farmer with 15 years of water spinach growing experience. After graduating from junior high school, Wang Youjun returned home to grow water spinach with his parents. Every day from 3-4 a.m. he had to go down to the vegetable fields to pick water spinach, then carry it to the county town's farmers' market to sell.

Transforming from a vegetable farmer into a bulk vegetable broker was a major turning point in Wang Youjun's career. One morning 12 years ago, Wang Youjun's wife, Gan Xian, carried vegetables to the farmers' market to sell to vegetable vendors and happened to learn that a vegetable merchant from Beihai had come specially to Bobai to seek water spinach, needing 250 kg of Bobai water spinach every day. However, the water spinach grown by their own family produced only 100 kg per day, so they still had to buy part of it from other vegetable farmers in the village. Gan Xian thought this was an opportunity, so she called Wang Youjun to discuss it, and in the end the couple decided to take the order, purchasing 150 kg of water spinach from the village's vegetable farmers and then shipping it by bus consignment.

"At that time, the Beihai vegetable merchant required cash on delivery. For me, there was a certain risk, because it was my first time doing business with an out-of-town merchant, and the water spinach might rot in transit. But after thinking it over again and again, I still did it, and asked the bus driver to collect the money for me and bring it back." This was the first water spinach purchase-and-sale deal Wang Youjun completed. Easily, with just one resale, he made a profit, which surprised him greatly. It turned out the water spinach business could be done this way.

Immediately afterward, Wang Youjun personally made a trip to Beihai and Nanning to learn about the market conditions at the local vegetable wholesale markets, and found that Bobai water spinach was very popular and contained considerable business opportunities. After returning home, Wang Youjun transformed himself and became a broker for Bobai water spinach.

He became a bridge between Bobai vegetable farmers and out-of-town merchants

Every year from the 3rd lunar month to the 9th lunar month is the peak season for Bobai water spinach, but often in peak season cheap vegetables hurt the farmers. Prices fluctuate unpredictably and sales channels are sluggish, which is what vegetable farmers worry about most. Now with Wang Youjun as a broker, the vegetable farmers feel much more at ease. Their planting income is stable, and they save the time of going to the farmers' market to sell vegetables, making it more reassuring and worthwhile, so they have one after another handed their water spinach to Wang Youjun for wholesale sale.

"About more than 1,000 kg of water spinach and about more than 800 kg of bitter lettuce are sent out every day, all grown by local vegetable farmers." Wang Youjun said that he has been engaged in vegetable brokerage for 13 years, and he and the vegetable farmers have already formed an interdependent and cooperative relationship. The vegetable farmers trust him and every day give him the best-looking vegetables to sell to large out-of-town customers.

"The orders are very stable. The vegetable farmers wait for my call every day and pick the vegetables on time and bring them over for weighing." Wang Youjun said that since the vegetable farmers trust him, he must ensure they do not suffer losses. Now every batch of water spinach sent out is shipped after payment is received.

Wang Youjun deals with out-of-town merchants every day. Although he is not highly educated, he is honest, keeps his word, and guarantees quality and quantity, deeply winning the trust of the merchants. Once, a vegetable merchant in Guangzhou sent him 20,000 yuan as a deposit for goods, but midway changed to another business. When Wang Youjun learned of this, he returned the payment to the merchant in full, not a cent less.

Wang Youjun told reporters that many of his deals are ordered by phone, and with some people he has never even met. It all relies on good faith to maintain this stable cooperative relationship. He has already become a bridge between Bobai vegetable farmers and out-of-town merchants.

Because he keeps his word and guarantees quality, more and more vegetable merchants and procurement staff from hotels and restaurants trust him, and his business grows bigger and bigger. Today, merchants from Guangzhou, Nanning, Beihai, Qinzhou, Laibin, Hechi and other places all come to him to order Bobai water spinach.

Voluntary promotion lets more people taste Bobai water spinach

Wang Youjun was originally a vegetable farmer, and he is very experienced in water spinach cultivation, especially the cultivation of aquatic water spinach. While working as a broker, he does not forget to promote water spinach cultivation techniques.

"Aquatic vegetables have been the top choice for freshness since ancient times, and water spinach becomes especially sweet when it meets water. Growing water spinach in paddy fields with excellent water quality not only makes it fresh and crisp and tender, but also adds a note of the water's clear sweetness..." Recently, Wang Youjun guided Mr. Wu, a grower in Hengxian, via WeChat on introducing Bobai water spinach into paddy fields.

Mr. Wu was originally one of Wang Youjun's customers. Once, Mr. Wu had a sudden idea: could Bobai water spinach be introduced to Hengxian? So he told Wang Youjun his idea, and Wang Youjun supported him very much. He personally went to Hengxian to inspect the local climate, water quality and soil quality, felt that the success rate of introduction was very high, and so helped Mr. Wu make a plan. With Wang Youjun's technical support, Mr. Wu immediately contracted more than 600 mu of paddy fields to introduce Bobai water spinach. Wang Youjun immediately mobilized vegetable farmers in his hometown to supply a large number of seedlings to Mr. Wu, which could both help the vegetable farmers solve the problem of selling seedlings and support Mr. Wu in introducing the crop in Hengxian.

"The introduction of Bobai water spinach has been very successful. All the seedlings were purchased from Bobai's main production area. Now the 600 mu of aquatic water spinach is growing very well, and a bumper harvest is in sight." Recently, the reporter contacted Mr. Wu, a large grower in Hengxian, and he said excitedly.

Mr. Wu said that local people in Hengxian very much like to eat Bobai water spinach, and demand in the market exceeds supply. He plans to further expand planting. However, he also admitted that the taste of the introduced water spinach is still somewhat different from that of water spinach produced in Bobai.

It is understood that under the active promotion of Wang Youjun and other brokers, counties and districts around Bobai County and areas along the border of Guangdong and Guangxi have one after another introduced Bobai water spinach, and Bobai water spinach has gradually become a major seasonal vegetable variety in these areas. The introduction of Bobai water spinach can not only meet market demand, but also give vegetable farmers in Bobai water spinach's main production areas one more path to increase income.