China Frozen Cauliflower And Broccoli Suffer
1 12 2007China is just starting their production of Frozen Cauliflower and Broccoli in Zhejiang and Shandong provinces. Thus far because of weather conditions product is very limited. The acreage and yields were first impacted by Typhoon Krosa and now they are experiencing colder than normal weather.
Broccoli which would be normally in full swing in Zhejiang is hard to come by. The raw material cost is over RMB3.00/kg compared to the normal RMB1.70 to RMB2.00/kg. The flower or crown of the broccoli is none existent as seen by the photo (click here).
In Shandong province were they had intended to increase cauliflower production this year because of the nice white color they get in this area, will get very little. At this point it appears (and they are more advanced into their season then the Zhejiang area) that they will only be getting 10 - 20% of their expected yields.
Fujian the other major growing area for frozen broccoli and cauliflower will not start until late January and run through March. Will it come to the rescue and help to alleviate the shortfall of Zhejiang and Shandong or as my old friend tells me, “God is fair to all”. If this is the case then Fujian will also encounter problems and China will be in for a very difficult year.
Beware of whom you buy from. One supplier in China called another and asked him, “how much cauliflower can you supply me with?” The supplier told him he could sell him 400 tons. “Great, I’ll buy them.” A couple days later the supplier who sold the cauliflower called the other and asked if he would be able to sell him 2 truckloads of cauliflower!!! Who has the cauliflower? Beware…
Technorati Tags: Noon International, China, broccoli, cauliflower, Zhejiang, Shandong
