Nobody knows where to start new season prices ,at this time.Prices will be low and probably remain low through October maybe later. Prices may start from 200 to 500. At this time all us dealers are talking to each other to try and decide what to start out at.
From the information that I get, there was a very important buyer in Hong Kong that sold a very large amount of Ginseng sometime in either December or January of last season. From what I understand, this buyer became insolvent for some reason or the other. In order for him to liquidate his stock of wild Ginseng, he sold his Ginseng for 450 a pound.I get a little conflict on the amt. he sold, but from the info I got, it was around 10,000 to 15,000 pounds of Ginseng.
With the amount he sold for cheap prices coupled with seng dealers that are holding seng from last season, it is having a very unsettled effect on new market prices for this season. I have heard and can't verify the info, that there could be as much as 3000 pounds in one country buyers hands that he could not sell for a profit last season. Also hear that several country dealers are holding anywhere from 10 pounds to several hundred pounds of root that Chinese buyers would not honor their commitment to pay the price to the country buyers that had been agreed to. If the country buyers held their root to late last season, there could be up to at least a 200.00 loss per pound of root these country buyers own.
The above problem coupled with a very wet season-in parts of the Ginseng belt, is causing the low start and confusion in Ginseng prices for this season. It is going to be a very slow start this season and may very well not be a good season until after the first of the year and maybe not even then.