Heavy rainfall in the Yangtze delta these last days has flooded part of the fruit orchards in Wuxi, Yangshan county. Mr. Wang cultivates honey peaches in Yangshan like his father before him. He says that now is the time that mid-season varieties go on sale. But they are less sweet because of the rain. Earlier this year, the Yangshan honey peaches already suffered from the spring colds, blooming later and bearing less fruits. So the sales period was delayed and the production volume reduced. Fruit farmers estimated a loss of 10% to 15%. "But the rain drowned some fruit trees and ruined some of the peaches. So the loss will be worse than expected before, some 30% to 40%," says Mr. Wang. Not only the production volume suffers from the rain. "If rain falls on the honey peaches after harvesting, the peaches start to rot within hours or the next day at the latest. It means more losses in the sales department." "All we can hope for now, is that less rain will fall in July and August. Only sunny weather makes the peaches sweet and tasty." Source - www.freshplaza.com