The honey plum base in Anzhou District, Mianyang City. Photo by Chang Xiao, Anzhou Media Center. "Over here, the regular ones are 10 yuan for 3 jin (1.5kg), and the better-looking ones over there are 5 yuan per jin." On the morning of July 10th, a fruit vendor named Xie at the entrance of the Guohua Huimin Farmers' Market in Chengdu's Chenghua District pointed to the honey plums on her stall while quoting prices. She told our reporter that last year, regular-quality plums could sell for 12 to 13 yuan per jin, while premium ones generally sold for over 15 yuan per jin.
Originating from Guizhou, honey plums, once retailing for dozens of yuan per jin, were dubbed the "Hermès International SA" of the plum world. In recent years, due to favorable market conditions, the variety has been introduced and cultivated in many areas within the province and is currently in season. Our reporter found that compared to last year, this year's honey plum prices have been "halved," even dropping to single digits. What has caused this situation? How can growers better cope with price fluctuations in the future? Our reporter conducted visits to investigate.
Bumper Harvest at Source, Declining Volume and Price at Retail
Our reporter noted that shoppers passing by Ms. Xie's stall would occasionally stop to inquire about the origin, inspect the quality, and compare prices. "It's so cheap, it's a bit hard to believe," said citizen Luo Shu, who bought just over a jin for only 6.5 yuan. Ms. Xie mentioned that although prices have dropped, her daily sales volume is at most 100 jin, half of last year's figure.
At markets like the Wuhou District University Road Comprehensive Market and the Jinjiang District Dongqingshu Farmers' Market, honey plum prices were generally observed to be between 5 and 10 yuan per jin, with a few stalls selling above 10 yuan.
What about fruit shops and supermarkets? At a fruit shop on Zhonglieci East Street in Jinjiang District, honey plums were priced between 15 and 20 yuan, depending on quality and size. The salesperson explained that the higher-priced ones were sourced from Guizhou, while the lower-priced ones were local Sichuan produce.
In supermarkets like Hema Fresh (Sunshine New Enterprise Building store) and Yonghui Supermarket (Wenhua Plaza store), honey plum prices remained above 20 to 30 yuan. Peng Li, a salesperson at Yonghui Supermarket (Wenhua Plaza store), stated that price fluctuations were minimal, with daily sales typically around 20 boxes (150g/box), reaching over 40 boxes during peak customer flow.
To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the market, our reporter visited the Sichuan Yurun International Agricultural Products Trading Center. Although the honey plum sales season is nearing its end, buyers were still making purchases. Li Yingcheng, one of the largest honey plum wholesalers at the center with over a decade of experience, informed our reporter that this year's wholesale prices for regular quality honey plums are 5 to 8 yuan per jin, medium quality 9 to 10 yuan, and premium quality 12 to 15 yuan, all significantly lower than last year. "Last year during this period, I could sell over 5,000 jin daily, but this year it's only around 2,000 jin," Li said.
The situation at the production end is equally concerning. As early as 2014, Luo Yongbing, a major honey plum grower in Qu County, Dazhou City, began cultivating the variety within the province. His current planting area exceeds 6,000 mu. In previous years, farm-gate wholesale prices varied from 18 to 25 yuan per jin based on size and quality, but this year they are only 6 to 8 yuan. "We've almost sold out now, but the more we sell, the more we lose," Luo expressed with frustration. He explained that although the average yield per mu increased by over 500 jin this year, the overall profit per mu actually resulted in a loss of more than 7,000 yuan.
Zhou Weisong, a major grower in Honghuai Village, Yongxing Town, Zhongjiang County, Deyang City, shared similar sentiments. Since 2018, he has developed nearly 100 mu of plum orchards, intercropping honey plums with local varieties like 'May Crisp'. This year's honey plum yield was 50,000 to 60,000 jin, 10,000 to 20,000 jin more than last year. His base's honey plum supply is now largely depleted. "Last week, I sold over 2,000 jin in one day. Guess the price per jin? 4.5 yuan!" Zhou told our reporter, noting this was the lowest price in years, resulting in minimal profit this season.
Impact of Prolonged Rain, Need for Standardized Cultivation to Improve Quality Consistency
Why are honey plum prices so low this year? Our analysis indicates that a nationwide bumper harvest combined with abnormal weather are the primary reasons. This year, favorable weather during the flowering period in core production areas like Zhenning, Guizhou, improved fruit set, laying the foundation for high yields. Data shows Zhenning's honey plum output was 60,000 tons in 2024 and is expected to reach 77,000 tons this year. Coupled with recent favorable market conditions prompting expanded planting, many new orchards have now entered peak fruiting periods, leading to a significant surge in production capacity.
Li Yingcheng observed that four years ago, honey plum orchards were rare in areas like Ziyang, Mianyang, and Leshan, but these regions have now become his main sourcing areas. Liu Lei, Deputy Director of the Horticulture Research Institute at Chengdu Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, who has long followed Sichuan's honey plum industry, explained that recent improvements in pollination techniques have also increased yields per mu in Sichuan, from just 400-500 jin per mu to potentially 3,000-4,000 jin now.
The consecutive rainy weather in Sichuan during June directly impacted the quality and taste of the honey plums. "Continuous rainfall caused excessive water absorption in the fruit, leading to widespread cracking, which severely compromised marketability and resulted in a lower proportion of premium-grade fruit," said Wang Zhihui, Chief Expert of the Sichuan Fruit Innovation Team under the National Modern Agricultural Industry Technology System and a professor at Sichuan Agricultural University. He added that insufficient sunlight reduced photosynthetic efficiency, leading to lower sugar content and a bland taste. In mid-June, Luo Yongbing tested the sugar content of his plums, finding it only 10-12 degrees Brix this year compared to 18-20 degrees last year. Consequently, both purchase and retail prices for Sichuan honey plums have declined.
Our reporter noted that in supermarkets like Hema Fresh, Yonghui, and Hongqi Chain, locally produced Sichuan honey plums are seldom seen. "The main reason still lies in quality," analyzed Liu Lei. He pointed out that factors like pruning, fertilization, and harvesting all affect the consistency of honey plum quality, and Sichuan still needs improvement in these areas.
Experts have offered suggestions. Wang Zhihui believes Sichuan should intensify efforts in standardized cultivation, implement comprehensive green pest control throughout the process, and enhance quality. For instance, forming expert teams to regularly guide growers on precise irrigation/fertilization, shaping/pruning, flower/fruit preservation, and scientific pollinator tree matching, while accelerating the development of industry-standard production guidelines covering the entire process from cultivation to harvesting and grading.
To better address climate risks and improve fruit consistency, Liu Lei proposed that Sichuan learn from the experience of Guizhou and other regions by increasing investment in facility agriculture. Constructing openable/closable greenhouses or rain shelters can directly reduce rain impact and increase the proportion of premium fruit.
As Sichuan's honey plum production areas are widely distributed, the reach of cold chain and logistics is crucial. Furthermore, Sichuan should accelerate the construction of its cold chain logistics network, enabling refrigerated trucks to access production areas more conveniently, ensuring fresh fruit reaches consumers in optimal condition.
Wang Zhihui also emphasized that Sichuan honey plums need to better tell their brand story, making more consumers aware of their advantages of "large size and rich flavor," to achieve a leap from "selling fruit" to "selling a brand."
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