Status Quo And Developing Countermeasures Of Yangxin Pear Industry

Pear industry is a traditional industry of Yangxin County. After more than 50 years of development, it forms the current scale. But with the ever-changing economy and market conditions, constantly decrease of pear planting area, instability of the sales price and other problems arise, how to attain the healthy, orderly and sustainable development of pear industry is a question we need to solve.We investigated and sorted out 59 constant temperature pear warehouses, 13 companies, 17 professional cooperatives and some pear growers in Yangxin County, and consulted the historical archives over the years and current literature etc. to obtain basic information of Yangxin pear industry. The resources status, production, storage, processing of pears, as well as utilization of resources, pear brand building and development of farmers’ cooperatives were all included in the survey. Based on the above information, this paper analyzes systematically the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Yangxin pear industry, and puts forward relevant countermeasures and suggestions.1. Six major advantages exist in Yangxin pear industry. The first is natural advantage. The predominant location, slightly alkaline soil, reasonable groundwater depth conditions etc. of Yangxin County create a unique flavor and excellent quality of pears. The second is climatic advantage. Yangxin County is located in the temperate zone with four distinct seasons and abundant sunshine, which contributes to pear production. The next strength is water resource. The well-developed irrigation and drainage systems guarantee the production of Yangxin pear. The forth is traffic advantage. Yangxin County has a developed road transport network which is in the Bohai economic circle, south of Peking and Tianjin, providing favorable conditions for pear transport. Then comes the cultural advantage. Generations of Yangxin people have been gradually enriching and improving the pear production and management technology. Particularly, Zhu Wanxiang has made outstanding contributions to the Yangxin pear industry. The last is social advantage. Party committee and the government of Yangxin County attach great importance to the development of pear industry and propose innovative ideas.2.However, there are also seven major disadvantages. The first aspect is breeding. The nursery area is small while most of the seedlings need to be transferred from outside. The second weakness is the single resource, planting area of other fruit varieties apart from pear is small. Then, there is little diversity in pear products, i.e., they are almost identical due to lack of new product development capability. The forth disadvantage is the poor awareness of brand protection. Part of pear growers care for immediate benefits only and pay no attention to brand quality. The fifth is that most pear varieties are late-maturing except Zaosu pear, thus the time to market is relatively concentrated. Next, the sales system is not sound. The marketing capability of companies is poor, and sales network only covers a small area. Finally, the customer reception capacity is inadequate. Lodging, dining, shopping and other conditions in Yangxin County can’t compete with those in surrounding counties, and it is hard to retain customers.3. The opportunities Yangxin pear industry face are as follows. The nation provides policy support, i.e., Yangxin County has been approved by the Provincial Forestry Department as a key cash tree industry county in Shandong Province, making a greater room for development of Yangxin pear industry to. Besides, pear products market is promising, and Yangxin pear products receive high market recognition,so we can sell the products to a further distance.What’s more, care function of pears has attracted people. With increasing demand for health care and weight loss, there is an urgent need to develop health food made from pears.4.The threats for Yangxin pear industry are as follows. First is the lack of protection for pear resource which leads to diminishing planting area. Secondly, disastrous weather occurs frequently, thus pear growers’ interests can’t be guaranteed. Worse, increased production costs has made pear growers’ income decrease significantly.5. Countermeasures and suggestions for Yangxin pear industry development are listed as follows. In terms of regulation and policies, the government should take measures to protect the resources, support leading enterprises, improve fruit security mechanisms as well as develop fruit trees insurance business. In respect of market regulation, different pear varieties can enter the market in different periods, while the wholesale market of pear can be normalized, and professional fruit brokers should be cultivated. In regard to regulation of the operation mode, farmers’ cooperatives should be supported, while forest economy and tourism resources should be developed.