China’s $4 Billion Lychee Harvest Devastated by Extreme Weather

(Bloomberg) — Extreme weather is devastating China’s lychee crop, the jelly-like tropical fruit that is worth $4 billion a year to the country’s farmers.

China is both the world’s largest producer and consumer of the fruit, and a significant exporter. About half of its lychees are grown in the southern province of Guangdong, where the harvest has fallen foul of an unusually warm winter followed by heavy spring rains. As a consequence, prices have jumped.