Metropolis Express reported that since the beginning of January, for Hangzhou area, sunny days have been few and far between. Rainy days have become an everyday occurrence.
Local vegetables will remain expensive for a while. Since the New Year, vegetable prices have not been cheap. Local farmers said there is nothing they can do about it as it has been too cold for the vegetables to grow.
The wholesale price on the 27th was: baby bok choy at 2 yuan per catty, mao mao cai (a type of leafy green) at 2.3 yuan per catty, choi sum at 3 yuan per catty, and cabbage at 0.8 yuan per catty. In the farmers' market, choi sum was sold for more than 4 yuan per catty. At this time last year, the wholesale price was only about half of what it is now: baby bok choy at 0.8 yuan per catty, mao mao cai at 1.2 yuan per catty.
Due to the low temperature and continuous rainy weather without sunshine, whether it be open-field or greenhouse-grown vegetables, yields have been greatly affected. The vegetables in the greenhouse cannot get enough sunlight, the temperature cannot rise, and photosynthesis is also affected. A large-scale vegetable grower from Liangzhu mentioned that a batch of his baby bok choy had already died. Cabbage grown outdoors is plagued by pests despite the cold weather. The pesticides sprayed are washed away by the rain due to the continuous rainfall.
Not only is the current yield low, but eating locally grown off-season vegetables will also be later than last year. In previous years, seedlings would be planted in greenhouses around this time for tomatoes, long gourds, and loofahs, with the first batch hitting the market in early April. However, under adverse climatic conditions, many of the currently cultivated seedlings have died, and it is estimated that the market entry will be delayed by one and a half months.
Strawberries need heating, watermelons don't grow well. "Normally, late February is the peak season for strawberries, but this year, it will at least be postponed to mid-March, and if it continues to rain, it might be even later," said Luo Hongqun, head of the Xiaxia Red Skirt Strawberry Professional Cooperative in Jiande City. Last year's rapid warming after the Spring Festival allowed strawberries to quickly grow larger, resulting in bigger and better-quality fruits. However, this year, the low temperature and frequent rainy days have slowed down the growth of strawberries, making the fruits smaller, with production reduced by at least 20% during the same period. To overcome the low temperature, he has already installed heating equipment in the strawberry greenhouses. "Currently, we can only heat up to 15℃, which still needs improvement; ideally, it should be heated to 18℃ for optimal strawberry growth," said Luo Hongqun, who could only hope for clear skies and rising temperatures.
Jiang Miaocong, head of the Jiang Family Fruit and Vegetable Professional Cooperative in Wenling City, said local watermelons have just been planted. Currently, his business focus is on selling watermelons from southern production areas, but this year's weather has affected the yield of Hainan watermelons. "At this time every year, one mu (Chinese acre) of land could produce over 3,000 jin (Chinese pound) of watermelons, but now it may only yield over 1,000 jin." The low temperature not only prevents watermelons from growing larger but also affects their quality, making the flesh harder, thus causing the price of large watermelons to soar.
Silver Monkey tea from Songyang made a belated appearance yesterday.
Yesterday, at the tea market in Songyang, Lishui, over a hundred jin of Silver Monkey tea from Songyang hit the market. This is the first "large-scale" release of Silver Monkey tea this year, which is one of the famous teas from southwestern Zhejiang province, and it is about half a month later than last year.
Since the Spring Festival, Zhejiang's green teas have successively entered the picking season. However, due to the continued low temperature and rainy weather, the release time of green teas this year has generally been delayed by over half a month. For tea connoisseurs, a later release time isn't necessarily a bad thing because the longer growing period improves the taste of the tea.
The Silver Monkey tea from Songyang started being picked gradually last week, but the picking volume has remained low. A staff member from the Tea Office of Songyang County said that last week, only dozens of jin of dried tea were available daily, and yesterday the quantity began to increase slightly. "This week, we should be able to achieve large-scale availability."
The famous tea "Three Cups Fragrance" from Taishun also had its release delayed this year. Last Tuesday, the first batch of "Three Cups Fragrance" from Taishun, Wenzhou, was officially picked. If the weather remains stable, new tea will begin to be available in large quantities this weekend, which is 10-15 days later than usual.
Compared to the southern Zhejiang region, spring teas from central and northern Zhejiang have just begun sprouting. The release times for famous teas like Dafolongjing from Xinchang and Longding from Kaihua are conservatively estimated to be around mid-March, while West Lake Longjing is expected to be ready around the end of March to early April.
Secretary Yu XiuHong of the Kaihua Longding Famous Tea Association of Kaihua County said that prolonged rain and light snow have extended the tea's growing period, improving its quality. However, weather during the picking period can also affect the tea's quality.
In the view of Secretary Shang JianNong of the Longjing Tea Industry Association of Xihu District, Hangzhou City, having a week of clear weather followed by a day of rain during the tea-picking period is the ideal weather for ensuring tea quality. "However, if it continues to rain after entering the picking period, the tea's flavor may become milder."
Secretary Xu LiangPing of the Tea Industry Association of Xinchang County also worried about another situation: "If the temperature rises suddenly after the rain stops and remains high, it will not be beneficial for the tea's quality."
From the perspective of already released teas, prices are either the same as last year or slightly higher. Last week, the average price of fresh leaves of Wuniu Early tea from Taishun was over a hundred yuan per jin, which is about 10% higher than last year. The release price of the first batch of Wuniu Early tea from Yongjia was around 5,600 yuan per jin, which is the same as last year. Yesterday, the Silver Monkey tea from Songyang in Lishui was traded at around 600 yuan per jin in the tea market, which is also the same as last year.
Xu LiangPing said that the low temperature has resulted in this year's tea sales season being shorter than in previous years, leading to lower production. Additionally, the rising cost of tea pickers is also an important factor driving up tea prices.