China News Service, Urumqi, January 5th, title: Quality increase, price increase, Xinjiang red dates out of the trough, promising prospects
Author Shi Yujiang
After experiencing production leaps, disorderly competition, and slow-moving prices, the price of Xinjiang red dates stabilized and rebounded in 2021, and both production and sales were booming.
The analysis believes that one of the important reasons is that the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, one of the main planters of Xinjiang red dates, has strengthened standardized production, quality assurance, and branding operations.
Due to the unique advantages of climate and light conditions, Xinjiang red dates have a high reputation in China, and are an economic crop that has been widely planted in the past two decades.
According to the Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China is the world's main producer of red dates, accounting for about 98% of the world's total output, and Xinjiang's red date output accounts for 49% of the country.
Today, the production of jujube in Xinjiang Corps has accounted for more than 50% of Xinjiang.
As a pillar industry, Xinjiang Corps has obvious competitive advantages in jujube, and its prospects are worth looking forward to.
Increase in sales and prices
During the New Year's Day of 2022, in the yard of the Twenty-ninth Regiment of the Third Division of Xinjiang Corps, forklifts are loading the processed special and first-grade dates to Shanghai, Jiangsu and other places.
"The market price of primary dates is 20 yuan (RMB, the same below) per kilogram, and the special grade is 30 yuan. Since the autumn and winter, the red dates purchased have almost been sold out." Fan Henghai, the head of the company, told reporters that the 49th group planted more than 30,000 red dates this year. Mu, good appearance and good taste.
After testing, the sugar content of dried dates has exceeded 72%.
In the autumn and winter season of 2021, many merchants from southern China and coastal areas went to Xinjiang Corps to purchase red dates.
Yang Hua, a merchant who purchases red dates in the Fourteenth Division all the year round, said that the quality of red dates in 2021 is significantly better than in previous years, so he will charge more.
Chen Qiling, director of the Institute of Forestry and Gardens of Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, analyzed the price trend of red dates in the past two decades and said that from 2000 to 2006, the average price of red dates in China rose from about 18 yuan per kilogram to about 30 yuan per kilogram, and then fell to about 21 yuan; From 2006 to 2011, it rose from 21 yuan to about 41 yuan, then fell sharply to more than 5 yuan in 2015, and then hovered at a lower price.
In 2021, the average purchase price of Xinjiang red dates is 7 to 9 yuan per kilogram.
Chen Qiling said that the price of jujube has stabilized and rebounded, indicating that the Xinjiang jujube industry has begun to take effect from a quantity-based to a quality-based transformation.
Seize the high-end market
Industry insiders believe that since 2010, the area of jujube planted in Xinjiang has increased greatly, but disorderly competition, uneven quality, and the lack of an industrial chain are the main reasons for the sales difficulties.
In recent years, Xinjiang has gradually improved the quality and safety traceability system of characteristic agricultural products, and applied new technologies such as high-quality cultivation, efficient use of water and fertilizers, pest control, and mechanized production suitable for the climate characteristics of different regions. The quality of red dates has improved significantly, and it is seizing the high-end market through branded operations. .
In 2021, the 700,000 red dates planted in Alar City of the First Division will be pollinated by bees during the growth period, and standardized management of sticky insect boards, insecticidal lamps, and reflective mulch films will be promoted, and the sales market will be expanded to the Southeast Asian market.
The geographical indication trademark "Tumushuke Dongzao" registered by Xinjiang Corps has brought great social and economic benefits to the Jujube industry in Tumushuk City of the Third Division.
Liu Yong, president of the Dongzao Association of Tumushuke City, said: “In 2021, the average purchase price of winter jujube will increase by 12.5% per kilogram, driving about 200 households to increase their income by 10 million yuan.”
There is still plenty of room for improvement
The industry believes that in order to improve the competitiveness of Xinjiang red dates, it is necessary to extend the industrial chain of red dates and increase their added value.
The reporter visited and found that although there are deep-processed products such as red date series drinks and red date wine, the red date products sold on the market in Xinjiang do not account for a high proportion.
“Xinjiang jujube premium products accounted for only 4.2%, but sales accounted for 18.68%. In addition, semi-finished jujubes, early raw material jujubes and low-grade jujube accounted for 67.45%. The proportion of deep-processed jujube products is relatively low, and there is a lot of room for quality improvement. Chen Qiling said that the level of production technology does not match the market demand for high-quality red dates.
"From the perspective of resources and organizational advantages, Xinjiang Corps should have a greater share of the domestic high-end jujube market." Chen Qiling said that through strengthening technology management, brand building, differentiated supply, intensive processing, and innovative development, the jujube industry will be more advanced. Vigorous and competitive.
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