The price of imported cherries has "plunged" Truth Survey: In recent years, it has been high and low, and it will be cheaper next month

Every reporter: Jin Zhe Every editor: Wen Duo

Every autumn and winter, the price fluctuations of imported cherries will attract attention, with the recent arrival of a large number of imported cherries, the price of imported cherries in many places has dropped significantly.

On January 11, a reporter from the "Daily Economic News" learned at the Jiangnan Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market in Guangzhou that the price of cherries imported from Chile has fallen from 75 yuan/jin at the peak at the end of 2023 to 41 yuan/jin. A number of fruit wholesalers said that the market was very poor this winter, and the quality and sales of cherries could not go up.

However, it should be noted that every winter, the price trend of cherries shows a trend of opening high and going low - that is, they are listed at a high price at the end of the year, and then the price is greatly reduced at the beginning of the following year. Moreover, according to the data of the two major fruit and vegetable distribution markets in the north and south, the average price of cherries at the beginning of 2024 is currently at a low level, but it is actually slightly higher than the price of the same period in early 2023.

At the same time, a large number of sea cherries have arrived, and the market inventory is still increasing. Boss Li, a second-level wholesaler, told the reporter of "Daily Economic News": "If there is less goods, it will be easier to sell." Now there are too many goods, they are everywhere, and the price cannot be sold. ”

Industry insiders expect that as a large number of goods enter the market, the price of cherries will continue to decline, and there will be a peak in sales before the Spring Festival.

Imported cherries Image source: Photo by reporter Jin Zhe

"There are too many goods now, and the price is difficult to rise"

Jiangnan Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market, located in Zengcha Road, Baiyun District, Guangzhou, is the largest fruit and vegetable wholesale distribution center in South China. The reporter of "Daily Economic News" saw at the scene that cherries are the hottest fruit at the moment, and the stalls selling cherries are one after another, and boxes of cherries are stacked at the front of the stalls, becoming a stretching hill.

Fruit grade, quality and freshness are the main factors that affect the price of cherries. The boss surnamed Li does business in the Jiangnan fruit and vegetable wholesale market all year round, and sells cherries at this time of year. At his booth, Chilean imported 3J grade (fruit diameter 30 mm - 32 mm) cherries are currently sold for only 200 yuan for 5 catties, and if you sincerely want them, you can also sell them for 110 yuan for 3 catties.

Boss Li said that this winter, the price of cherries was "generally not good", and it has actually risen a little in the past two days. Two days ago, because new goods were coming, everyone was clearing the old goods, so the price was reduced even more. "Tomorrow there will be new goods, anyway, it is cheap and cheap quality, expensive and expensive quality. Boss Li concluded.

But that's not the bottom of the price yet. According to Boss Li's experience, the peak sales season is before the Spring Festival, when there are more goods arriving in Hong Kong, and the price will be cheaper.

The price given by Boss Chen at the stall next door to Boss Li is 220 yuan for 5 catties of 4J-grade (fruit diameter of more than 32 mm), and 320 yuan for 10 catties of 3J-grade cherries. In his opinion, if the supply is small, they will sell a little better, but now there are too many goods, everywhere, cherries have a shelf life, everyone is afraid of rotting in their hands, the slightest difference in the price will be out, and the price is also difficult to rise.

In the Jiangnan Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market, cherries are the most popular fruit Image source: Photo by reporter Jin Zhe

According to information from Chinanews.com, on December 26, 2023, the Singaporean ship "Yongchun" berthed at Yangshan Deepwater Port. The ship unloaded 245 refrigerated containers totalling nearly 4,900 tonnes of cherries during its call. According to Chinese customs data, on December 28, 2023, the first COSCO Shipping "Cherry Express" this winter loaded 216 refrigerated containers, totaling nearly 4,536 tons of Chilean cherries, and arrived at Yangshan Port in Shanghai.

A relevant person from the fresh food platform Pupu Supermarket told the "Daily Economic News" reporter on the 12th that in the middle and late December 2023, the arrival of shipping commodities, a large number of Chilean cherries arrived in Hong Kong, and the volume of goods was sufficient, and the prices of 2.5 kg of 2J and 3J cherries fell sharply, which was more favorable than in January 2023. Most retail systems prefer red fruit and labins varieties, with the 2.5kg "2-in-1" selling better.

Driving high and going low, the price trend of cherries is similar every winter

"Daily Economic News" noticed that the sales time of cherries imported from Chile is from December to February of the following year, and the price decline shows a cyclical pattern.

When it was first launched, the price of cherries was very high because of the small quantity and the high cost of air freight. With the passage of time, the production of cherries has increased in various places, a large number of cherries have entered the market by sea, and the cost of transportation and preservation has decreased, and the price of cherries has shown a continuous downward trend. In February every year, it is basically the stage when imported cherries are processed for tail goods, and fruit merchants will reduce prices as soon as possible in order to avoid losing money if they can't sell them.

Statistics from Beijing's Xinfadi wholesale market show that on December 31, 2023, the average selling price of Chilean imported cherries was 60 yuan per catty, compared with the average price of 120 yuan per catty on November 10, 2023, which has dropped by half. Entering 2024, the price of cherries will continue to fall, and by January 10, the lowest price of cherries will be 30 yuan/jin, the highest price will be 55 yuan/jin, and the average price will be 42.5 yuan/jin. This means that the price of imported cherries has been reduced by about 65% in two months.

Cherry market from the end of 2023 to the beginning of 2024 Image source: Screenshot of the website of Beijing Xinfadi Wholesale Market

Cherry market from the end of 2022 to the beginning of 2023 Image source: Screenshot of the website of Beijing Xinfadi Wholesale Market

The situation was similar in previous winters, with the average wholesale price of imported cherries at the Xinfadi wholesale market in Beijing at the peak of December 2022 at 58 yuan per catty, and only 34 yuan per catty by the end of January 2023.

Changes in market supply and demand directly affect the price fluctuations of cherries, so will imported cherries in early 2024 be cheaper than those in early 2023?

According to data from Beijing's Xinfadi wholesale market, on January 10, 2023, the average price of imported cherries was 34 yuan/jin, with the cheapest as low as 18 yuan/jin, the highest being 50 yuan/jin, and 42.5 yuan/jin at the end of January 2024. That is, January 2024 is cheaper than the same period in January 2023.

The data of the Jiangnan fruit and vegetable wholesale market also shows that the current price of imported cherries has dropped from 74.5 yuan/jin on December 8, 2023 to 41 yuan/jin on January 11, 2024, but the price of cherries on January 9, 2023 is 34 yuan/jin. Also cheaper in the same period in 2024.

Of course, the price of imported cherries this winter is cheaper or more expensive than the same period last year, and it depends on the specific time, region, channel and other factors.

The price of the same cherry on the e-commerce platform is also high first and then low. But the price in 2024 is cheaper than the same period in early 2023 Image source: APP screenshot

However, from the perspective of zooming in on the time span, the price of imported cherries has been lower than in 2019 in recent years.

Jiangnan fruit and vegetable wholesale market data shows:

In February 2019, the average price of imported cherries was around 42.5 yuan/jin, and the lowest was 39 yuan/jin.

In February 2021, the average price of imported cherries has not risen to 30 yuan/catty.

In February 2022, the average price was below 30 yuan/kg for most of the month.

In February 2023, the average price of imported cherries was less than 20 yuan per catty.

In the Jiangnan Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market, boxes of cherries are stacked on top of each other Image source: Photo by reporter Jin Zhe

This winter's fruit is not as good as before, and the price will be even lower in the future

What is the reason behind the price "diving", but it has not touched the hearts of more consumers?

A number of wholesalers in the Jiangnan Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market said that because of the rare heavy rain in Chile, there are more bad cherries, and the quality of the fruits this winter is generally poor.

Every year from November to the following year, it is a busy season for Chilean cherries. These carefully cultivated cherries, picked, sorted, packaged, and transported across the equator to China across the Pacific Ocean.

Ou Guangqiang, the international purchasing of Baiguoyuan Group, mentioned in a previous interview with the media that the 2023 Chilean cherry season will be slightly reduced due to climate reasons, but the overall fruit nutrition is more sufficient, so the size will be larger.

Boss Huang, a second-level wholesaler, said with a sigh while dismantling the boxes of cherries to show reporters: "In terms of the market, basically the market this winter is not very good, and it will definitely be worse than the previous year or two." And this batch of fruits is worse than before, look, including such beautiful fruits, there will be bursts in a lot of them, so the sales are not so good. ”

According to Boss Huang, the first-level wholesalers are sold in whole vehicles, not dismantled zero, and the second-level wholesalers are to earn some average price difference in the middle, and now the quality of the fruit is not good, the sales volume is not high, and the profit will be less, a box may be about 10 yuan. If the market is good, you can earn about 20 yuan at most for a box. Because they all take the goods according to a fixed price, if the goods cannot be sold or the price is low, it is equivalent to their own loss, and consumers may think that the cherries are cheap this winter, but in fact they have less profits.

The reporter learned that on January 10, there will be a batch of sea cherries to arrive, and after this batch of goods enters the market, the price of cherries will change again. Boss Li believes that the quality of this batch of cherries is the most important factor affecting the price and sales, "or depending on the quality of the goods in the hands of individuals, the new batch is not necessarily better than the current goods."

Industry insiders expect that the price of cherries may be even lower by then.

Boss Huang also told reporters: By the end of January, with the arrival of the Spring Festival, there will be a peak in sales, and the price will be lower.

He believes that by then a large number of goods have entered the market, the price of cherries will be cheaper. Therefore, Boss Huang hopes that his goods can be sold as soon as possible and not lose money.

Image source: Photo by reporter Jin Zhe

National Business Daily