Last season and the season before, sales of Menzi pomegranates have slumped. As a result, growers were no longer willing to continue planting and run pomegranate orchards. This has lowered pomegranate yields significantly.
Yunnan Mengzi Pomegranate Trading Company is an example of this. In 2015, total sales decreased to less than 10,000 tons.This has led to the decision to stop doing e-commerce business. Mr. Li explains: "The entire pomegranate season in Sichuan province has performed poorly. As a result, Mengzi pomegranate sales encountered unprecedented challenges."
Compared with regular Sichuan pomegranate, Mengzi pomegranate are bigger in size and sweeter in taste. Its skin is thinner and the seeds are softer. However, Sichuan pomegranates are cheaper than Mengzi pomegranates, with a difference of 2 to 3 Yuan per kilogram.
Last year the price of local Mengzi pomegranate dropped to 5 and 6 yuan per kilogram. Some of the growers have not managed to sell their crop and have performed at a loss. Growers are replacing pomegranate trees with other fruits. Some of the trees that are being replaced are only 5 to 6 years old. Pomegranate trees can bear fruits for twenty to thirty years, so replacing these trees is a loss for the industry.
However, if production volume remains the same prices might not recover. Last season's returns were as low as 12,000 Yuan per hectare and growers have left or have been unwilling to renew contracts with buyers.
