Early-season garlic from Henan, which primarily supplies domestic demand and is often used to make pickled garlic, arrived on the Chinese market on the 22nd of April. The dried garlic that is suitable for export arrived around the 10th of May. In Shandong, another major garlic production area, the early-season garlic entered the market around the 17th of May. In the end, cold weather affected the growth of garlic this season. That is why the garlic is relatively small. And the production volume declined by at least 10% in comparison with the same period in 2020. "Weather conditions have not been that extreme this season, but the temperatures were relatively low and that is why the garlic is smaller than last year. But the product quality is great. The peel is tight and thick, and the garlic does not show green sprouts like last year. Only a small volume of garlic suffered from mold on the peel. Other than that, although the overall price is slightly lower than last year, the product quality of more than 70% of the garlic (#5.5 and bigger) is great this year and traders have high expectations for this season." This is according to Jack Chen of Golden Sun Co., Ltd. Jack Chen further explained: "The conditions of garlic supply this year suggest that we will have a high price again. Regular garlic from storage will not likely drop below 5 yuan [0.78 USD] per kg. However, in the short term, the progress of the pandemic will have unpredictable consequences for international demand and import policies in various countries. The price at which farmers sell garlic and their enthusiasm for planting garlic are closely connected. The price is currently higher than the cost price for farmers. Add to this the government subsidies for certain crops, and it is likely that farmers will expand plantation next year." In the end, the price of garlic is likely to rise from 5.3 [0.83 USD] per kg now to 6 yuan [0.94 USD] per kg in the summer, or even higher. Other than that, the purchase volume of garlic that is stored or processed into sliced garlic will have an impact on the price and may push the garlic price as high as 7 yuan [1.10 USD] per kg. As for the conditions of garlic in cold storage, there are frequent and significant fluctuations. "The export market continues to suffer from the Covid-19 pandemic. The balance between supply and demand is disturbed, but this also works to the advantage of Chinese garlic export, which continues to grow. Such conditions will likely persist in the next few weeks," said Jack Chen. Source - https://www.freshplaza.com