The price of cherries is "cut in half", and it is not so simple to eat as much as you want
Last week, the news that the price of cherries had been cut in half appeared on Weibo.
According to reports, the price of Chilean cherries on December 31, 2023 will be halved from the beginning of November, which sounds like a very good deal, and once triggered a rush to buy them.
Photo/Sina Weibo
The price of Chilean cherries has dropped significantly in many cities, and in the Jiangnan fruit and vegetable wholesale market in Guangzhou, the price of Chilean imported cherries has dropped from 75 yuan/kg at the end of 2023 to 41 yuan/catty.
According to the official website of Beijing Xinfadi Vegetable Market, from the end of October last year to January this year, the average price of Chilean cherries dropped from 72.5 yuan per kg to 42.5 yuan per catty.
Photo/Beijing Xinfadi official website
For a while, Cheerilee seemed to fall from the "noble fruit" to the people.
So, why is the price of cherries going down this year?
If you want to understand why the price of cherries has dropped, you must first understand why it is expensive.
One of the reasons for the high price of Chilean cherries is the long cultivation cycle.
Common fruits such as apples and bananas have a short growth cycle of 1 year or more than 2 years, while cherries take about 5 years from seedlings to harvest, and the long return on investment cycle is one of the reasons why it is expensive.
The second reason is the high cost of transportation.
China is about 20,000 kilometers away from Chile, and cherries can only be transported by air or sea, and the high transportation costs are also amortized into the cost, which accounts for about 30% of the total cost of cherries.
In fact, the phenomenon of "halving" the price of Chilean cherries this year is not special, looking back at the price trend of cherries in the same period in previous years, it will basically show varying degrees of decline from December to February.
Why is the price of cherries going down this year?
Cherry sales is a race against time, in order to let Chinese consumers eat cherries for the first time, Chile opened a "cherry plane", every year from the end of October to November, the first batch of Chilean cherries will arrive in China by air.
Scarcity is expensive, so this is also the time of the year when the price of cherries from Chile is the highest.
From December to February, the remaining Chilean cherries will enter the Chinese market by sea or air-sea transport.
After the arrival of cherries in China by sea, the price of cherries in the market will drop immediately, especially after a large number of Chilean cherries arrive in China in January every year, the price of cherries will show a more significant decline.
In addition, the reason for the decline in cherry prices this year may also be due to the improvement of international logistics efficiency in recent years, and imported cherries can reach China faster and at a lower cost.
In the past, it took more than 20 days to ship by sea, but now through the combination of charter + charter flight, the transportation time of Chilean cherries can be further shortened.
At the same time, in order to seize the market, sales platforms may also reduce prices to attract consumers.
Photo/The cherries of Hema and Sam's Supermarket are often compared horizontally by netizens
It is worth mentioning that the biggest impact of this price change is on the small size cherries, while the price of those high-quality and large-sized fruits remains stable due to the scarcity of quantities.
Figure / Cherry size chart
China is the largest consumer of Chilean cherries, and Iván Marambio, president of the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association, said in an interview this year: "Chilean cherry exports are expected to reach 95,412,863 boxes this season (October 2023 to March 2024), totaling about 477,000 tons, and about 85% or more will arrive in China." ”
Chilean cherries are generally available from early November to February and March of the following year, which coincides with the winter market in China, where fresh fruit is scarce, and this time coincides with the Chinese New Year.
Due to the overlap of factors, it is difficult for Chilean cherries to find other rivals in China's winter fruit imports.
The ripening period of cherries happens to target the Spring Festival, when Chinese are most willing to spend money, so Chinese consumers who are preparing New Year's goods naturally also set their sights on beautiful and delicious cherries.
In this way, a tacit understanding between Chilean cherries and Chinese consumers thousands of miles away has formed a two-way rush.
The high price of cherries is also related to the characteristics of the fruit itself.
After entering China, cherries are often regarded as a high-end fruit suitable for gifts because of their beautiful appearance, clear quality grading, and the symbolic meaning of prosperity.
图/IC PHOTO
At the same time, cherries are a rather contradictory fruit.
It is not easy to store and should be consumed as soon as the package is opened.
In order to buy cherries cheaply, it is usually necessary to buy cherries from 5 catties or 10 catties, and large packages of cherries need to be eaten as soon as possible.
In recent years, in addition to Chilean cherries, many high-end fruits that used to be expensive are gradually becoming more accessible to the people.
For example, Sunshine Rose, which was very popular in the past few years, fell from the highest 300 yuan/kg to single digits, and many netizens reported that the price of some varieties of strawberries has also dropped sharply this year.
The "former aristocratic" cherries, while the price of fruits has dropped, have also been added by many tea brands to their new seasonal products.
Photo/Seasonal cherry drink
This winter, the price of cherries has indeed decreased, and the price reduction has allowed more people to taste it, and it has also allowed the consumer group in the Chinese market to quietly expand in the future.
Written by: Yang Yifan
Proofreading: Jia Ning
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