October to December is the peak period of the Taizhou mandarin orange but this year farmers are worried. "The best mandarin wholesale price last year was 3.5 yuan per jin. This year's good mandarin oranges can only sell for 2 yuan per jin at best," a mandarin orange grower said.
The fruit merchants have become far more demanding. In previous years a large truck of six kilograms direct from the field could be sold at once, but this year they have had strict requirements for the size and appearance of the mandarin oranges. Some citrus experts and growers have said that the reasons mandarin oranges are hard to sell and have low prices are mainly related to the bumper harvest and the weather throughout the country this year.
In previous years, the market began to sell mandarins from Guangxi in July and August, and then the ones from Hunan and Hubei. By the end of October, the mandarins in these areas were basically sold out, and those from Taizhou would go on the market to form a good sales chain. But this year, mandarins all over the country have had a bumper harvest. The sales of mandarins in other regions have been extended, which has affected the sales of mandarins from Taizhou to a certain extent.
