China Anji White Tea Network News: "I didn't expect the tea seedling prices to be so high this year, I made a small profit." This was said by Lin Jiayun from Xuyuan Village, Lianjiang Township, Ming Shan County. Before the Spring Festival, he was still worried about the unsold tea seedlings at his home, but now he is smiling broadly. All of last year's remaining tea seedlings at his home have now been sold to Ming Shan County Perfume Seedling Planting Farmers Professional Cooperative at a price of seven-tenths per plant.
From the current situation, it seems that the tea seedling prices in Ya'an City this year will be better than last year, and farmers' enthusiasm for grafting tea seedlings will also increase significantly.
High demand and good quality naturally lead to high prices
People familiar with tea seedling cultivation all know that this year's grafted tea seedlings have just taken root, and the tea seedlings being sold now are all old seedlings left over from last year. But why did last year's low-priced tea seedlings double in price this year?
It turns out that some areas suitable for developing tea planting increased their tea garden area last year, leading to a sharp increase in tea seedling demand from the end of last year to the beginning of this year. According to Li Wanlin, the person in charge of Ming Shan County Perfume Seedling Planting Farmers Professional Cooperative, when the tea seedlings were on the market last year, due to oversupply and competition between cooperatives, the price of tea seedlings kept falling. In order to sell the tea seedlings as soon as possible and recover costs, farmers were willing to sell them at low prices. By the end of last year, with the expansion of tea garden areas in provinces like Guizhou, Yunnan, and Shaanxi, the demand for tea seedlings surged, leading to the current rise in tea seedling prices.
"Another reason for the rise in tea seedling prices is the good quality of the tea seedlings from Ming Shan, which has received widespread recognition in the tea industry," said Li Wanlin proudly when talking about the quality of Ming Shan tea seedlings.
Li Wanlin introduced that since the establishment of the cooperative in 2007, the cooperative has focused on tea seedling cultivation, strictly selecting superior varieties for propagation to ensure the quality of the tea seedlings. Despite the overall decline in tea seedling prices last year, due to the excellent quality of the cooperative's tea seedlings, all the seedlings were sold out, and although the price was not as high as it is now, they still made a small profit while covering the costs.
Complete varieties and smooth sales channels ensure stable prices
Li Wanlin, who had just returned from the Fifth China Yibin Early Tea Festival "study abroad", also brought back good ideas for Anji white tea planting and tea industry development. Since Li Wanlin is not only the person in charge of the cooperative but also the village director of Xuyuan Village, Lianjiang Township, besides managing the cooperative well, he also needs to contribute his part to enriching and increasing income for all the villagers in the village.
Li Wanlin said that after more than ten years of dealing with Anji white tea, plus frequent opportunities to go out and study and investigate, he has accumulated many good methods and new models for Anji white tea planting and tea industry development. Whether it is grafting tea seedlings or operating a tea garden, having a full range of varieties is always beneficial, as it can meet the needs of different customers.
"This year, the cooperative collaborated with Sichuan Agricultural University to introduce new varieties suitable for propagation and planting in Ming Shan, such as Sichuan Agricultural Yellow Bud Early, Chuan Mu No. 28, and Ma Bian Green, further enriching the tea seedling varieties," said Li Wanlin. The cooperative specially hired Professor Tang Qian, the head of the Tea Science Department at Sichuan Agricultural University, as a technical advisor to provide professional suggestions for choosing new tea seedling varieties for the cooperative.
To ensure the stability of tea seedling sales prices, smooth sales channels are equally important. "While the cooperative is fully selling the tea seedlings of its members, it also uses the sales channels found by the cooperative to help other villagers sell their tea seedlings," said Li Wanlin when talking about sales channel issues. Even during the relatively difficult period of tea seedling sales last year, the cooperative's tea seedlings were not only sold out, but they also helped non-cooperative member farmers sell their tea seedlings.
In this regard, Lin Jiayun feels the deepest. Lin Jiayun is not a member of the cooperative, "Last year, it was very hard to sell tea seedlings, I tried every means but couldn't find a suitable buyer." Now, Lin Jiayun has greatly relieved his mind after selling last year's remaining old tea seedlings to the cooperative. "Fortunately, Director Li's cooperative has sales channels, otherwise, I would have been worried to death."
This year, reduced production brings hope for higher prices
Due to the impact of last year's low tea seedling prices, most tea farmers' enthusiasm for grafting tea seedlings has been hit, and the total output of tea seedlings this year will decrease to a certain extent.
"To make profits, we need motivation," said Ding Hua, the village director of Perfume Village. Last year, many tea farmers could only break even when selling tea seedlings, and some even incurred losses. As a result, the production enthusiasm of these tea farmers was affected, directly leading to the decline in tea seedling production this year.
Li Wanlin also said that last autumn, when grafting tea seedlings, the cooperative was also concerned about this year's sales issues. It is estimated that this year's tea seedling production will be at most 0.8 billion plants, equivalent to half of last year.
Indeed, in a market economy environment, supply and demand relationships will have a huge impact on products. Currently, due to the influence of last year, this year's tea seedling production will inevitably decrease. Once supply is less than demand, tea seedling prices will remain high, which is good news for farmers who have tea seedlings for sale this year. "Regardless, as long as there is no loss and there is reasonable profit space, farmers are very willing to graft tea seedlings. This way, buyers can also buy what they need, benefiting both parties," said Li Wanlin. Market demand forecasting is quite challenging, but judging from the current situation, compared to last year, this year's tea seedling sales prices will definitely see a major turning point, ensuring an increase in farmers' income.
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White tea, also known as Anji White Tea, is one of the six major types of Chinese tea. Anji White Tea, with pure white young leaves and only slightly green main veins, is a rare variant tea species. It belongs to the "low-temperature sensitive type" tea. The China Anji White Tea Network introduces the origin of white tea, the history of Anji White Tea, Anji White Tea prices, and displays Anji White Tea enterprises. To find white tea, come to the China Anji White Tea Network!