Wuxi in Jiangsu has had overcast and rainy weather since the end of Chinese Spring Festival [February 5th, 2019]. The poor weather conditions led to a significant decrease of the strawberry production volume. Insufficient sunshine also slowed down the growth of strawberries, which in turn delayed market supply, and pushed the price up by more than 50%.
People in the industry say that the poor weather conditions did not have a great influence on the first harvest of strawberries, which already entered the market in December last year. Now, with the overcast weather, bees are less likely to come out of their hive, which has a direct impact on the pollination of strawberries. This will reduce the production volume by at least 20%. The flavor will not be affected, but the size of strawberries will be limited. In previous years the market share of large strawberries was around 70%-80%, but this year their share is 40% at most.
The third strawberry harvest will enter the market in bulk in April, under regular conditions, but it is difficult to say how much delay the overcast and rainy weather will cause.
