Every year from May, you can smell a special smell near the fruit shop on the street.
Writer Yu Dafu once described it as "a kind of stinky cheese and onion mixed with a smell similar to turpentine".
People's impression of durian is polarized, those who love love to death, and those who hate hate to death.
It's the durian season again, and the news of durian prices diving has been on Weibo's hot search.
Recently, there has been a lot of news about the price reduction of durian on the Internet: there were 3 durians for 100 yuan on the streets of Guangxi, and the price of durian in Hainan was reduced to 10 yuan a catty......
In the voice of "durian freedom has finally been realized", many consumers in other cities said that they did not feel the price reduction, does the so-called durian freedom seem to exist only online?
So, what exactly is the price of durian this year? Why can't we feel it even though the price has dropped?
01 Is durian really cheap this year?
Whether you like durian or not, your previous impression of it should be "expensive".
If you want to know why the price of durian has dropped, you must first understand why it is expensive.
One of the reasons why durian is not cheap is that durian trees are difficult to grow and the fruit grows slowly.
It often takes 8 years for durian to grow from planting to the first fruit, and it takes more than 10 years to grow into a delicious old tree durian fruit.
Secondly, because durian is a tropical fruit with high requirements for the growing environment, almost all durians in the Chinese market are imported from Thailand, Indonesia and other countries.
Photo/IC PHOTO The transportation cost of durian is high, the production area is far away from the main consumer market, and it needs to be transported over long distances, and special attention must be paid to maintaining freshness and taste in the process, and these costs are attached to the selling price of durian.
So, is durian really cheap this year?
Let's talk about the conclusion first: the price has indeed dropped, but there is still a distance from the "halving".
The so-called halved price of durian means that it has fallen from 60 yuan/jin to 30 yuan/catty, which is related to the previous price and concentrated maturity and listing
Looking at the prices at this time in previous years, you will find that it is not unusual for durian prices to drop after May Day.
Picture/Baidu News So, how did the dozen yuan a catty or 100 yuan or three or five in this year's news come from?
First of all, we found that the screenshots on social media are usually "palm durians" sold on street stalls or trucks.
And 100 yuan can buy three or five, usually only in specific goods, the low price is mainly a variety called "palm durian" (mini golden pillow durian).
Photo/Sina Weibo is similar to Cheerilee, durian has its own strict grading system:
Photo/Sina Weibo The super small fruit of the golden pillow eliminated in the production area was pulled to China to change its name and re-sell.
The so-called "slap durian" is actually not a new variety, it is a "secondary fruit" to sell. The size of this "slap durian" is a little larger than that of a fist, and most of the meat is thin and large, and it seems that the unit price is cheap, but because of the small size of the body, the meat yield is very random.
Each is less than 1 kg, the maturity is unknown, the meat yield of normal durian is 35%-50%, and the "palm durian" may be less than 35%, and the price seems to be cheap, but some consumers say that the difference between the price and the pound is not large.
In order to ensure the freshness of durian, usually, the durian during transportation is not ripe, mainly by ripening during transportation.
And this year's special situation, some durians that are about to ripen have also entered the market.
A durian sales industry insider said: "The price reduction of durian this time, on the one hand, is because the volume of goods in Thailand and Vietnam is concentrated in the market, on the other hand, the production area of Thailand is drought, the arrival speed is uneven, there are burst fruits, and the price needs to be reduced and cleared, resulting in a large price difference." ”
According to Thai media reports, problems such as drought and lack of water for cultivation in the main durian producing areas in eastern Thailand this year may lead to fluctuations in production. Competition for durian is particularly fierce, with buyers signing order agreements in advance of the start of the season, which means that overripe fruit must be delivered in a timely manner, even if the weather is in place.
If the fruit is overripe, it will taste bitter and can only be sold at a low price.
Therefore, durian, which is particularly cheap on the market, may also be a super-ripe fruit.
Photo/Little Red Book
The price of more than ten yuan a pound on the Internet may refer to the wholesale price of 15-25 yuan, and it may be a relatively conventional price of about 20-30 yuan in the hands of consumers.
02 Why is the price of durian reduced this year?
"Halving" and "price diving", the object and time point of comparison are very important.
For example, the so-called "halving" is compared with the beginning of March, when the output was relatively tight, and the price of some durians dropped from 60 yuan to more than 20 yuan.
A fruit seller said: "The price of durian mainly depends on the quality, the price of good goods is still relatively strong, and the price of poor quality is more likely to lose money." ”
PHOTO/IC PHOTO It is worth noting that this year, many news of "durian prices halved" will appear together with cities such as Guangxi and Hainan, which is easy to give people a misunderstanding that the price of imported durian has been halved due to the impact of the listing of domestic durian.
Although domestic durian is also speeding up mass production, and there is continuous good news about the improvement of domestic durian in Hainan and Guangxi, the relationship between durian price reduction and domestic durian listing may not be large. At present, the planting area of durian in Hainan is close to 40,000 mu, which is two to three times higher than last year, but the current output is still far from the market consumption, and the impact is limited.
Some fruit wholesalers in Yunnan said that 30-40 yuan per kilogram a week ago, and 15-25 yuan in the past two days is the normal market price of the harvest season.
As for the 100 yuan and 5 durians on the streets of Guangxi, many of them are "slap durians" used to attract customers, and the weight and quality are not guaranteed.
Strictly speaking, the price of durian, as the king of fruits, has indeed been declining year by year over the years, and the reasons for the price reduction also include:
1. It is now the peak season of durian picking, and a large number of products on the market will inevitably bring the price down, and every year from May to July is the peak season for durian picking in eastern Thailand.
2. Trade between China and ASEAN countries is heating up, the logistics and cold chain system are further improved, and the import of durian has become increasingly convenient and fast. It can be seen on the official website of Beijing Xinfadi Vegetable Market that the price of durian in April and May this year has indeed decreased slightly, but it seems that there is still a distance from "durian freedom".
Photo/Beijing Xinfadi official website Xinfadi Marketing and Publicity Minister Tong Wei also said in an interview with the media: "Recently, durian has been listed in batches, and the price has decreased compared with a month ago, and this state will continue to be stable for a period of time. "With the recent news of durian price reduction becoming more and more popular on the Internet, there is even a kind of "durian scam" on social media.
Recently, a new type of scam has appeared on the Internet, some people said on social media that they could buy durians at a price lower than the market price, and many netizens were blocked by the other party immediately after paying.
While everyone is chasing "durian freedom", please also pay attention to the selection of purchase channels. After all, if you lose a bet at a fruit stall, you only have less pulp, and if you buy durian from unknown sources on social media, you will lose the bet and there will be nothing.
Tips: 1. You can wait for the price to drop when you buy durian, but don't expect too much about the "fracture price". 2. While chasing "durian freedom", please pay attention to screening formal purchase channels.
Author: Yang Yifan Proofreader: Liu Baoqing This article is produced by Hardshell INK, and everyone is welcome to share it in the circle of friends Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday update Without permission, it is forbidden to reprint, copy, and use
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