As a result of the decline in fresh garlic production and the unsuitability of some items owing to mold, the price at origin is now increasing, and the majority of foreign clients are waiting to see if they should make a purchase. However, enthusiasm for doing so is not very high. The majority of Southeast Asian nations have recently bought outdated garlic. Old garlic costs about $70, which is far less than the cost of new garlic. The majority of the stocks will be converted into dehydrated garlic flakes for export because the majority of the old garlic is not appropriate for long-distance shipping.
The new garlic was harvested in the production zones in mid-May. The output fell between 10% and 15% from the same time last year. First, the planting space in the Shandong production areas has shrunk, which is the cause of this. Second, yellow leaf disease afflicted some early-ripening garlic, which had an impact on the specifications to some extent.
In terms of quality, this season’s harvest of garlic was delayed by persistent rainy weather during the drying process, which led to mold growth and resulted in up to 15% of the crop becoming moldy. Second, this season’s fresh garlic is typically tiny in size. 55%–60% of garlic is between the sizes of 4.5 and 5.0, while only 10% of garlic weighs more than 6.0 pounds. Garlic this season is often of substantially lower quality than in past seasons.
The prices at the point of origin have recently been quite erratic, rising and declining. This week’s price is around 30% more than it was two weeks ago. “The export quotations at the moment are rather disorganized. Because there aren’t many orders coming in from abroad, some exporters have purposefully quoted low pricing to attract new clients. “The price of 5.5-size garlic is currently $1,750-1,850 per ton FOB Rotterdam. Compared to 45 days ago, the price has climbed by around $400 per ton.
Foreign consumers are waiting because of the current high pricing, the speaker said when describing export hopes for the upcoming few weeks. It is anticipated that it would take some time for foreign retailers to accept the higher price.
