Summer is the blank period for Chinese citrus fruits, and most of the citrus fruits sold on the market are from South Africa and Australia. In the past few weeks, the heavy rainfall in northern China has had a certain impact on consumption. Although the sales have picked up recently, the price cannot go up.
According to Mr. Zhang, a merchant at the Xinfadi Wholesale Market in Gaobeidian, the trade relationship between South Africa and China is relatively friendly, and the export volume of South African mandarins is increasing every year. Although there was a port strike in South Africa earlier this year, as well as natural disasters and adverse weather, the impact on the import side was not great, and the arrival of the fruits did not appear to be significantly delayed.
"The easing of anti-pandemic measures is a great benefit. In the past few years, due to the movement controls, even if there was market demand in many areas, the fruits could not be delivered. Now no matter where the customer asks for the products, there is no problem with logistics and transportation. At present, we sell to the three northeastern provinces, and the volume in Inner Mongolia, Hebei and other places is relatively large."
"According to our supplier at the origin, there was plentiful rainfall in the main production area of South Africa this year, and many newly planted fruit trees have reached their production period, so the output of this season has hit a new ten year high. In terms of quality, due to the cold weather during the flowering period, many orchards have black spots on citrus. The recently arrived South African citrus has a lot of scratched skins, and the quality is not as good as last year. But the sweetness and texture are okay."
According to Zhang, the price of South African oranges this year is basically the same as last year, but the price of South African citrus products is generally lower than last year. Among them, the price and sales of South African grapefruits in the Chinese market are not ideal. Depending on the variety and color, the price of Valencia oranges ranges from 140 to 180 yuan. "After the pandemic was lifted, prices have become more transparent. This is one of the reasons why fruit prices this year seem lower than in previous years."
As for Australian oranges, the volume of Australian imported fruit has not fully returned to normal, but there are always products in the market. "At present, there are no major problems in terms of shipping time, inspection and quarantine, and customs clearance, but the import tariffs on Australian fruits are still relatively high compared to other countries, and this part of the cost is passed on to the consumer side, resulting in higher prices for Australian oranges than South African oranges." Zhang said, "The current market price for small boxes of Australian oranges is between 240 yuan/box, and the price of large packages is 360 yuan/box."