Nanshan litchi to hit market in late May

Feizixiao, an early maturing variety of Nanshan litchi, is expected to hit the market around May 30. Another variety, Nuomici, will be available around the Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on June 10, according to local media reports.

As one of the most popular summer fruits, litchi always garners a lot of attention as summer approaches. However, this year’s litchi production is predicted to significantly decrease due to several factors.

According to a litchi orchard owner surnamed Zhong, the expected yield in his orchard will only be 2,500 to 3,000 kilograms this year, which is a significant decrease compared to last year’s harvest of 15,000 to 20,000 kilograms.

Zhong’s litchi orchard, which has been in operation for 10 years and has 800 litchi trees, is located near Baiwang Village in Xili, Nanshan District.

“Although it is now the season for litchi flowers to bloom and bear fruit, only leaves can be seen on many litchi trees, which is a sharp contrast with last year’s scene of blooming flowers,” Zhong was quoted as saying.

Zhong said that the main varieties of litchi in Nanshan -- Nuomici, Guiwei, and Feizixiao -- have all experienced reduced yields this year. He attributed the decline to last month’s rainstorm weather in Shenzhen, which lasted for more than half a month and led to significant fruit drop and further decreased output.

“When the litchi is close to maturity, the loss may be even greater if there is another rainstorm,” Zhong said.

According to industry insiders, the overall flowering rate of Nuomici and Guiwei this year is less than 20% and 10%, respectively. Only the early maturing Feizixiao variety has been less affected, with a flowering rate of 90%.

Zeng Yani, a staffer with Xili Orchard, said that unpredictable and fluctuating temperatures are the main factors contributing to the difficulty in flowering. Additionally, since last year was a bumper year for litchi, a relatively meager harvest is expected this year.

According to Xiang Xu, a researcher with the Institute of Fruit Tree Research at the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, previous data show that litchi production in Guangdong was about 1.5 million tons. However, estimates suggest it may be halved this year to around 700,000 to 800,000 tons.

Xiang noted that many mid to late-maturing litchi varieties are currently reserved, and their purchase price is one to two times higher than last year.