A conservative estimate of total production is 80,000-120,000 tonnes. However, in a country of over one billion people, nobody seems to know for sure. This cutting method has been introduced by Japanese sent to China. China is the low-cost competitor who will set market price. All these are consumed by overseas Chinese who eat them throughout the year, but more so around October, November, and December when fresh nuts are available for roasting.
Chinese cuisine uses chestnuts in high-class dishes.
The dragon-boat festival around May uses up most of the dried chestnut. Most natural stands of chestnut were largely destroyed in the 1950's as a result of war and chestnut gall wasp epidemics. Since then, more than 200,000 hectare of orchard have been established, mostly in the south and west, on poor soils. Blocks of trees are planted in 25-year cycles, with peak production around year 15. Many Korean selections are now also proving popular in the U.S. where they have proven relatively blight-tolerant and hybridize easily with existing selections.