Around this time of year there is usually a limited supply of seasonal fruits, apart from apples and pears from cold storage there are only a few fruits that sell in large volumes including oranges, pineapples, and mangoes. Other fruits such as loquat and plums have much smaller production volumes. This year the prices of seasonal fruits were not bad at all. The pineapple purchase price reached its highest point in the last 30 years. Farmers who had been worried about the impact of the pandemic were pleased to see the price rise so high.
Most of the mangoes on the Chinese market currently come from Hainan. Their purchase price was quite good when the mangoes just entered the market, around 6-7 yuan [0.93-1.08 USD] per 0.5 kg. But when the mangoes entered the market in large volumes in the middle of April, the price began to fall and is now only around 2-3 yuan [0.31-0.46 USD] per 0.5 kg. Last year the outbreak of Covid-19 greatly affected mango sales. This year the prices are quite good, so farmers are eager to harvest as much as possible and sell. Competition is fierce. And mangoes can not be kept in storage for very long. They have to be sold regardless of price. Some mangoes take advantage of live broadcasts to create a trend. That is why the Jinhuang mango sells for 6-7 yuan [0.93-1.08 USD] per 0.5 kg even though the purchase price is only 2-3 yuan [0.31-0.46 USD] per 0.5 kg.
There are many places in China where farmers cultivate mangoes, but the driving force behind the market is Hainan. The mangoes from that island enter the Chinese market earlier than other production areas, and the prices are better for those who enter the market early. Now the mangoes from Guangxi have joined the supply from Hainan, and mangoes from Guangdong, Sichuan, and Yunnan will soon join in large volumes. The production volume in Hainan is estimated at 680,000 tons (based on data from 2020) and the production volume in Guangxi is around 800,000 tons. Guangxi is the largest mango production area in China, but Hainan is the first to enter the market.
Competition in the domestic mango market is fierce, but in addition there are import mangoes. Around 86% of the Vietnamese export mangoes are destined for the Chinese market (based on data from 2019). Last year the import of Vietnamese mangoes was interrupted because of problems with product quality, but this year everything went well. In addition, Chinese started importing mangoes from Cambodia. An estimated import volume of 500,000 tons is already on the way. However, whether the mangoes are imported or produced in China, market competition only grows more intense.
Source: Maizi kanqiu