In the past year, prices of everyday commodities continued to rise; many categories have seen record-high prices, but apple prices have continued to hit new lows.
It is reported that as of the end of April, the volume of apples in storage across China was about 4 million tons in total, about 10% higher than usual. Due to the high storage volume, the overall market is weak and prices vary based on quality: low-quality products are cleared at low prices, the price of medium-quality products continues to fall, while that of high-quality products remains firm. After the Spring Festival, the weekly average wholesale price of Fujis in China dropped from 7.31 yuan/kg to 6.87 in late April.
The development of prices is closely linked to weather conditions. At present, most producing areas are in the flowering period. Due to the generally low temperature in these areas from mid-to-late March to mid-April, the flowering period was slightly delayed. In some areas, unfavorable weather conditions such as continuous rain, snow, and hail occurred during the flowering period. However, on the whole, there were no large-scale extreme weather conditions that would cause serious damages to the production and quality, which also led to falling prices in the new season.
In May, a variety of seasonal fruits became available with increasing supply, offering an alternative to storage fruits such as apples. At present, the clearance is slow, and the overall market is expected to remain weak.
Source: Fruit Critic