The garlic market in China is currently turned upside down. "All those involved in the trade of garlic are making the local market go crazy. Last year, the Chinese kicked off the new season with 200,000 MT from the 'old' harvest, which is mainly used and consumed by the processing sector and the local market. But now the Chinese report that, at the moment, there is almost no longer any supply. So when the new harvest arrives in June/July, the stocks will be completely empty," explains Joey Deen, of Denimpex.
According to the importer, prospects for this new crop are not looking great. "Garlic growers talk about a 30-40% smaller harvest due to the extremely bad weather conditions. Local news channels have actually reported up to 60-70% losses in the Laiwu region, while in the Henan region they amount to 30% and in Jinxiang to 20%. The fields which were now supposed to show a beautiful green are looking brown and withered," confirms Joey. "European stocks are not expected to last until the new harvest. It's a situation we had never seen before!"
"Whatever remains available of the 2015 garlic harvest is no longer in the hands of the growers. Large speculators with big financial resources have bought the garlic and kept it in cold storage. The Chinese are only selling small amounts to exporters and packers and prices are growing every hour, making it very difficult for exporters/packers to get their hands on the garlic," states Joey. "Prices currently stand between $ 25-28 per carton FOB Qindao, depending on the size and packaging. But if an order is placed, many exporters are unable to cover it because they cannot get any garlic."
