In China there is a large production of oranges which has come on the market for the last few months. Besides the local supply, imported oranges are also doing well.
Currently Egyptian oranges are coming on the market. This year the shipments were a bit delayed in the 
beginning of the season, because the coloring of the orange was not good enough yet for export and needed a little bit more time to color. Then during the Chinese New Year, the COVID-19 broke out and this had a direct effect on the export of Egyptian oranges.
As Sylvia from Leopard Fruit Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. explained: “Recently we are loading as programmed again, however a few weeks back this was not the case. In week 4 to 6 about 90% of the clients stopped, as the market was quite unstable and no one knew how it would further develop. However, from week 7 onwards we started loading shipments again and sending them to China.”
Since week 8 Leopard Fruit Trading has been receiving Egyptian oranges for the Chinese market again. Sylvia comments: “When the first shipments arrived in week 8, we could not receive them directly in Shanghai. Due to the virus Shanghai port had too many containers on the terminal which could not be moved. A lot of truck workers were still in their hometowns and it was uncertain when they could be back in Shanghai. Therefore we mostly shipped to Guangzhou. We receive new containers every week. The quality is very good and is well appreciated in the Chinese market.”
Regarding the current market conditions she mentioned: “The price is good compared with previous season but the movement is slow. Many clients are not back to work either. Our supply is more or less the same as last year, because the total production of this season from Egypt is 30% less. We think the season will also be finished earlier. How the market will develop further is hard to stay. At this moment, it does not matter whether you are selling in Shanghai or Guangzhou, the buying power has not yet come back to normal due to the virus. On the one hand clients are fewer and, on the other hand, restaurants and juice bars are all closed. The virus is also still spreading in countries around China, so it just depends how that will further develop. We stay positive and just try our hardest to serve the market with the best fruits.”
Sylvia
Leopard Fruit Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
Tel. +86 21 3479 9266
sylvia.xu@leopardfruit.cn