This year, there has been a bumper harvest of lychees in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan provinces in China. However, this abundance coincided with an economic downturn in the country, leading to a collapse in prices. Prices have plummeted to as low as 1 yuan per jin or even just a few cents, resulting in unsellable surplus that farmers have resorted to feeding to livestock or abandoning in fields and along roadsides. Farmers lament that prices as low as 1 yuan per jin are unprecedented and leave them feeling helpless.
Recently, numerous videos circulating on Chinese social media platforms show lychee growers and sellers complaining about the poor market conditions, with prices dropping to below 1 yuan per jin. Some farmers are forced to sell at a loss, pricing their produce at only fifty cents for three jin.
Videos depict a situation where the lychee harvest in the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi is plentiful, but market demand is low, leading to crowded purchasing points with farmers’ vehicles. Some bloggers remarked that there are more sellers than buyers of lychees. Despite efforts to sell at various purchasing points, farmers cannot sell at a profit and are left with no choice but to discard large quantities of lychees along roadsides and in fields.
Some households have collected discarded lychees to feed to cows, pigs, and chickens.
According to reports from Interface News, the high lychee prices of last year stimulated an expansion of cultivation, with single plant yields in Guangdong province alone increasing by over 30%. The three main lychee producing regions of Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan are experiencing a “super bumper year,” with a total estimated yield exceeding 2.12 million tons, a 37.5% increase from the previous year.
The report indicates that the total lychee cultivation area in the country is approximately 7.52 million mu, with a predicted national lychee production of around 3.65 million tons in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 111.26%, reaching a historical high. The lychee cultivation area in Gaozhou, Guangdong amounts to 591,400 mu, with an expected production exceeding 280,000 tons, potentially setting a new record.
However, in terms of pricing, this year’s ordinary lychee local purchase prices have fallen below the cost line, causing farmers to lose 0.3 yuan for every jin sold. Even the higher-priced lychee varieties have not been immune to the price drop. Some farmers reported starting to pick fruits at dawn but not even covering transportation costs. Some growers mentioned that the money earned from selling lychees isn’t enough to pay the pickers, so they decided not to harvest and leave the fruits rotting in the orchard.
On June 24, a blogger mentioned that the lychee market in Guizhou, Gaozhou, Guangdong, had collapsed, with prices dropping to freezing point.
On June 23, a fruit grower from Guangdong expressed disappointment, stating that the price of lychees dropped from 1.3 yuan per jin to 0.6 yuan per jin after picking for several days.
On June 24, another blogger described this year’s lychee as a disaster. Regardless of the quantity – whether just tens or even thousands of jin, the fruits cannot be consumed or fetch a good price. Buyers are offering as low as 0.7 to 0.8 yuan per jin, or even as little as 0.5 to 0.6 yuan, making the lychee practically worthless, a sharp contrast to the previous year. Some fruits are left unharvested, left to rot in the trees or on the ground.
On June 18, Jiusong News reported that a cooperative leader in Gaozhou City, Maoming City, named Mr. Su, acknowledged that lychee prices had dropped to over 1 yuan per jin. However, this was unprecedented as prices in previous years had never fallen below 6 yuan per jin. The cooperative cultivated nearly 200 mu (around 13.33 hectares) of lychee, but despite it being a year of abundance, they only managed to harvest about 80,000 to 90,000 jin, with nearly half of the yield going to waste.
Mr. Su decided to give up actively due to the low market prices, stating, “I just stopped picking because it’s not worth it. The money we earn isn’t even enough to pay the workers.” However, the higher-priced Guifei lychees will continue to be harvested and sold.
With China’s economy stagnating in recent years, there has been an emphasis on promoting the so-called “theory of economic enlightenment.” In response to the lychee market crash, officials have attempted to downplay the situation. The Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau of Maoming City responded to the media, suggesting that cases of prices falling below production costs should be rare, with market feedback indicating normal prices.
An official report on the largest lychee producing area in China, Maoming City, Guangdong Province, published by the state-run People’s Daily on June 14, praised the lychee production, highlighting the pride of the farmers. The report boasted about the estimated lychee yield of about 13,000 tons in a local village, with an expected production value of about 150 million yuan. However, the report did not mention the collapse of lychee purchase prices.
A blogger named “Kai Xin” on June 24 noted the trend of “3 jin for 10 yuan” flooding social media feeds and how some people mistakenly celebrate “free fruits,” leaving lychee farmers disheartened.
“Are fruits really free at 10 yuan for 3 jin? Is that something to be happy about?” she questioned. Farmers have complained to her that they are unable to earn enough to even cover the labor costs, so they leave the fruits to rot in the fields.
“One should not solely pursue low-cost fruits without considering their health implications as savings from cheap fruits now might turn into medical bills later. Quality comes with a price, so refrain from chasing after cheap deals at the cost of health,” remarked one internet user.
Another individual expressed concerns about the safety of Chinese lychees due to potential pesticide residues, as well as the abundance of preservatives used for long-distance transportation in supermarket fruits.
An internet user stated, “The very sweet lychees that not even flies or mosquitoes dare to touch because they are… toxic.”