Green plum guaranteed-price purchases are only one tenth of last year's volume, and plum farmers fear a food safety storm will cause prices to collapse
To protect the purchase price of green plums (Japanese apricot), the Council of Agriculture introduced "factory-farmer cooperation" 8 years ago, buying green plums at a guaranteed price of 9~11 yuan per kg. However, market demand fell this year, and the volume offered for purchase by processing plants was only one tenth of last year's. To prevent the market from collapsing, the Council of Agriculture rolled out a stop-harvest measure, subsidizing 14,000 yuan per hectare, hoping farmers would not rush to pick the fruit and ruin market prices. But some farmers believe that in the past, wholesalers used the government purchase price as the standard and marked it down; now that factory-farmer cooperation has almost been cancelled, farmers can only let wholesalers name their price.
Affected by the food safety storm, guaranteed-price purchases of plums are only one tenth
After Qingming Festival, the green plum harvest season begins. In Taoyuan and Namaxia in Kaohsiung, you will see many farmers using long bamboo poles to beat the plum trees, letting the plums fall naturally, also known as "pole-harvested plums." But in earlier days, this fruit they waited a whole season for could only fetch 5 or 6 yuan per kg, not even enough to cover costs, until 2008, when the Council of Agriculture cooperated with the Taiwan Preserved Fruit Industry Association to launch the "factory-farmer cooperation" policy, subsidizing processing plants 2 yuan per kg in transport costs, with processing plants buying green plums at 9~12 yuan (not including the 2 yuan transport cost). In recent years, the price has only stabilized at 8.4~10.6 yuan.
However, this year the volume under "factory-farmer cooperation" is only 350 tonnes, one tenth of last year's, and the market faces collapse. The Agriculture and Food Agency implemented a stop-harvest measure for 1,000 hectares of pole-harvested plum orchards, subsidizing 14,000 yuan per hectare. If the fruit set rate is less than 30 percent, or there are signs of harvesting, no subsidy will be granted. So far, more than 500 hectares have applied, and detailed results are still being compiled.
Rao Meiju, deputy head of the Agriculture and Food Agency's Marketing and Processing Division, said that last year plums had a bumper crop, preserved fruit manufacturers over-purchased, and coupled with the impact of the food safety storm, preserved fruit consumption declined and exports were also affected. Last year's purchased plums are still stockpiled in factories, and only 3 manufacturers submitted purchase demand; in addition, Jiaxian and Taoyuan in Kaohsiung both use extensive management and pole harvesting, and the plums are small, so even if picked and sold to mid-level wholesalers, the price still does not cover costs. Under oversupply, stopping harvesting is less likely to disrupt market prices.
Zhuang Fusong, chairman of the Taiwan Preserved Fruit Industry Association, also confirmed that last year operators bought a lot, market demand fell, and some purchased plums were small and harder to sell. There are still many plums in the pickling tanks. This year, the farmers' associations purchasing under "factory-farmer cooperation" dropped from 8 last year to 2, namely the Nantou Ren'ai Farmers' Association and the Kaohsiung Liugui Farmers' Association.
Green plum oversupply, wholesalers may press prices down
Taiwan's plums are mainly distributed in Nantou County and Kaohsiung City. According to the 2013 Agricultural Statistics Yearbook, Nantou had 1,398 hectares of plums, while Kaohsiung had 1,118 hectares. In Kaohsiung, the indigenous communities of Taoyuan and Namaxia have the most, purchased by the Jiaxian Farmers' Association. Last year's "factory-farmer cooperation" was 1,500 tonnes, and this year it has been completely cancelled, dealing farmers a huge blow.
Li Huimin, a representative of Kaohsiung's Namaxia District, said the 14,000 yuan subsidy differs greatly from the previous income under "factory-farmer cooperation," but farmers have no choice. However, he questioned that the reduction in purchase volume this time was because processing plants deliberately pressed prices down.
He explained that in the past, wholesalers would take the government-set purchase price as the basic threshold and keep lowering it, calling out 8 yuan, 7 yuan, 6 yuan per kg going down. "One truck carries 20,000 jin; if it is 1 yuan lower than the government purchase price, that is 20,000 yuan earned." Factory-farmer cooperation means the Council of Agriculture asks operators to buy, but if operators agree among themselves not to buy, the Council of Agriculture has no way out and can only add more subsidies for operators, or offer an even lower price.
Chen Renyong, an agricultural affairs instructor at the Jiaxian Farmers' Association, also admitted that this year the area under its jurisdiction has more than 1,400 hectares of plums, with each hectare producing about 5 or 6 tonnes. This year there is no factory-farmer cooperation at all, and green plum prices will worsen. Currently, 232 farmers with 426 hectares have applied for stop-harvest subsidies. At present, the farmers' association has bought about 200 to 300 tonnes of organic plums, with no plan to increase further, but it will hold promotions and plum DIY activities.
Agricultural authorities urge transformation
Regarding operators' feedback that pole-harvested plums and Kaohsiung plums are relatively small and hard to process, Li Huimin said that when the Council of Agriculture previously came to explain the stop-harvest policy, he had never heard them say this, nor had he heard the government say it would provide guidance. If they will not buy because the fruit is small, they should have told farmers from the start. "They can tell us how big the fruit must be for purchase, and whether to use hand harvesting; we will work hard and seriously," he said, hoping the government can study how to guide the industry and take care of farmers.
Rao Meiju calculated that this year plum production fell by 20 to 30 percent, with each hectare harvesting about 4 or 5 tonnes. With a subsidy of 14,000 yuan, this averages about 3 yuan per kg, and farmers no longer need to spend labor on care. Based on past experience, this should be able to offset costs. "Reduced demand is a broader trend, and farmers must also think together about how to transform."
He said each local government can add its own subsidies, but marketing is better than subsidies. Many counties and cities are already thinking about how to promote plum products. This year is an opportunity. Although the Council of Agriculture is focusing on stop-harvest subsidies in the first year, afterward it will guide farmers toward hand harvesting and organic cultivation, moving toward products with small volume, high quality, and high unit price.