Jize Onions About to Be Harvested: Why Onion Farmers Feel Both Joy and Worry

Jize County in Hebei Province is a major onion-growing county, with a planting area of about 40,000 mu each year.  

Every year in late May, the county's onions begin to be harvested. Recently, this writer came to the county's onion-growing area. Li Yunchang, a broker with many years of experience in buying onions, said: In recent years, Jize's onion planting area has been relatively large, and prices are noticeably lower than in surrounding areas. Because of the influence of the number of buyers and the supply-demand relationship between concentrated harvesting and purchasing, onion prices fluctuate greatly during the more than one-month harvest period. In addition, many factors such as variety, planting techniques, yield and surrounding planting area cause very large differences in onion farmers' returns. Some sell at an ideal price and smile with sweetness in their hearts, while others, finding it hard to sell, are dejected and frowning with worry.

On May 23, this writer once again came to the edge of a field in the county's onion-growing area. An old man Zhang, with a white towel tied around his head, said gloomily: Last year the onions were sold late, and 1 jin sold for only a bit more than 0.1 yuan. This year I do not know whether selling early or late is more worthwhile. Old man Chen said: I am also worried about when to sell. Last year, I sold early, at a bit more than 0.3 yuan per jin, but I harvested early, so the onion bulbs were a bit small and the yield was low. Village Party branch secretary Zhang Xianling said: Compared with last year, the onion area this year has decreased somewhat, and because of climate and continuous cropping, onion yields in some plots have dropped noticeably. With total output reduced, prices may well rise later this year. Standing nearby, Li Zhumao, a Hebei Province model worker and skilled vegetable grower in Jize County, chimed in: One year is different from another, and there is no rule to follow. Wave-like fluctuating markets account for most of the situation, but a slide pattern of opening high and moving low is also not rare. In addition, black bear tail-lifting, bull-market soaring, flat-road and swing-style markets also appear frequently. Therefore, one should observe more and analyze more. Crops must be grown well, and even more so sold well. Sell when it is time to sell. Only when onion farmers put the money into their pockets will their hearts be filled with joy.

It is reported that Jize County's 40,000 mu of onions will begin to be harvested recently, with total output expected to reach 200,000 tons.

Now many onion farmers worry that they will not find suitable buyers, and fear a bumper harvest without a good income. If they cannot sell all their onions in a day, they worry for a day. For this reason, the Jize County Association for Science and Technology calls on buyers from all places to come and purchase, so as to relieve onion farmers' worries. Before coming, you can contact Mr. Xing of the Jize County Association for Science and Technology to learn about market fluctuations in time. Contact phone: 13930078756, QQ: 1637556762.

 
Correspondence: Xing Yintian, Jize County Association for Science and Technology, Hebei Province  Phone: 13930078756
Email: [email protected]  QQ: 2735886832