The traditional "golden season" for Guangdong vegetable growers is when the weather gets cooler as they sell their produce in the northern China market. But the northern market for southern growers is getting a lot chillier.

As the rest of China, especially the far north, shivers in the icy cold, vast swathes of Guangdong are still warm enough for "out-of-season" crops.

That had made Guangdong a main source of fresh produce in northern China.

But competition and self-reliance have sharply reduced the market share of Guangdong produce, from the original 80 per cent to the current 20 per cent.

While Guangdong used to be the major exporter, other southern provinces have joined the fray. In recent years, Guangdong's dominance of the market gradually eroded due to the rise of Yunnan, Guangxi and Sichuan.

Hainan is proving to be an extremely tough competitor. In Shouguang Distribution Market in Shandong Province, 600,000 tons of fresh produce are sold each year. About 100,000 tons are shipped from Guangdong, half as much as the amount from Hainan. In Changchun market in Northeast China's Jilin Province, Hainan produce accounts for 37 per cent of all imports while Guangdong has a share of 27 per cent.

Hainan has made north-bound vegetables into one of its "pillar industries". It has invested in developing varieties of finer quality, standardizing packaging and renovating its shipping system.

As a result, "produced in Hainan" as a brand has gained traction in markets like the northeast.

The transport cost of fresh produce inevitably pushes up the price. For example, one kilogram of vegetables from Zhanjiang or Maoming, both Guangdong cities, usually accrues 2.0-2.2 yuan (24-27 US cents) in shipping expenses on the way to Changchun. Much of it, or 1.6 yuan (19 US cents) to be specific, is incurred within the jurisdiction of Guangdong.

That puts Guangdong produce at a disadvantage.

In addition, northern provinces like Shandong, Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang have put up large sums of funds in recent years into refining their greenhouse technology. Acreages have expanded greatly. Varieties are constantly being added. Some of them even export to neighbouring provinces.

However, that does not mean the northern market has no room for Guangdong produce. Some of the northern varieties are seasonal and tend to crowd into the market around the same time. The above-mentioned four provinces still need to import 3.6 million tons of southern vegetables from November through April.

Experts say that Guangdong still has a chance. But it needs to revise its policies.

First, it should build a so-called "green passage". Guangdong is the only Pan-Pearl River Delta province that does not grant immunity from bridge and road tolls for trucks shipping fresh produce. That blunts the competitive edge for its products.

Another change is product selection.

Currently it ships only a few kinds of peppers and peas. There is no grading and packaging is often haphazard. Standardization in processing may change that.

Editor: Olivia