Chao News client reporter Shi Wen correspondent Lu Yanping
Cherries sold out of season have been selling well in the Chinese market for many years because of their high quality and low price. However, this year's Chilean cherry market is somewhat abnormal.
The cherries I bought at the fruit store cost at least seventy or eighty yuan a catty, and netizens shouted, when will the "cherry freedom" I want come?
Yesterday (December 16), the reporter found the answer at the "2023 Cherry Conference" held in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Fruit Market.
Chao News reporter Shi Wen/photo
Chilean cherries, 50% lower than the same period last year
Chile is the world's first producer and exporter of cherries.
At the 2023 Cherry Conference, a data report issued by the Chilean Association of Fruit Importers and Exporters showed that in the 2022-2023 season, the total export volume of Chilean cherries was 415,300 tons, of which 88% were exported to China, with an export volume of 364,200 tons.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Chile, located in the southern hemisphere, has the opposite season in China, where the production of cherries is calculated on a quarterly basis, and the 2022-2023 season here refers to the export data from October last year to February this year.
What we are eating now is Chilean cherries for the 2023-2024 season, and what is the reason for the current high market price?
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
The relevant person in charge of the Chilean Fruit Importers and Exporters Association said: "Affected by the warm winter climate last year, the spring flowering of Chilean cherries has decreased, and the current output is only 50% of the same period in previous years. ”
In other words, the reason why cherries, which everyone loves, are more expensive this year is actually a significant reduction in production.
However, the association also said that the peak production period of cherries each season is around the Chinese New Year's Day, and with the subsequent increase in production, the price will soon fall.
The sea cherries arrived on New Year's Day, and each box was cheaper by 150 yuan
In addition to the place of origin, logistics is also a big factor in determining the price of cherries.
People who like to eat cherries know that the price of New Zealand cherries is much more expensive than Chilean cherries in the market for the same variety and specifications, and the main reason for the price difference is the difference in freight methods.
New Zealand's annual cherry production is only a few thousand tons, and all exports are by air, while Chilean cherries are only shipped by air when the early shipments are low, and a large number of subsequent shipments are shipped by sea.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Although the convenient and fast air freight cherries are usually fresher than those by sea, we take a box of cherries packed with 5 kg as an example, the cost of sea freight is only 2 US dollars, while the cost of air freight is 22.5 US dollars, which is not a little expensive.
That is to say, Chilean cherries of the same specification, after taking the sea by sea, can be cheaper by 150 yuan / box, and the shipping time of the sea cherries will start around New Year's Day and will last for a month.
The period from New Year's Day to the Spring Festival is what everyone calls "Cheerilee Freedom".
Cherries are sold in the Hangzhou market, and they are basically transported by air
In late October every year, the cherry clipper full of Chilean cherries will arrive at the two major ports of Guangzhou and Shanghai after 23 days of sea route, and then enter the three major imported fruit trading markets of Guangzhou, Shanghai and Jiaxing.
"Chilean cherries are sold in China with zero tariffs, and in order to reduce the pressure on Chinese dealers, a service called consignment is adopted. ”
At the meeting, the relevant person in charge of the fruit branch of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal Husbandry told reporters: "China's importers will sell Chilean cherries according to market conditions, and then extract a fixed commission of 6%, but the cherries that consumers eat are retail channels, because there are some fixed costs, which are usually 20~30% higher than the wholesale price." ”
In Hangzhou's secondary fruit wholesale market, Lao Lin, who has been engaged in the wholesale business of imported fruits for more than 10 years, said, "The market of cherries has risen by 30~40% this year, and the current price is still high, and the daily shipments are limited, only a dozen or twenty boxes." ”
"At this time in previous years, Chilean cherries already had sea shipments, and the price of 5 kilograms was more than 300 yuan. This year, the goods I got so far are still airborne, and the price of 5 kilograms is 500 yuan, and it is estimated that it will take a week to reduce the price. Lao Lin said.
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