In the past two weeks, seaborne Chilean cherries have arrived in numbers. It is understood that compared with the first week of this month, the quality of the recently arrived cherries is more ideal, the loss ratio is significantly reduced, and the hardness is improved. As the volume of cherries increases, the price has gradually dropped, and the current selling price has gradually stabilized. It is now approaching the peak purchase period before the Spring Festival, and the sales have been going smoothly in recent days.
"In the recent arrivals, the supply of Santina, the main early variety, has gradually come to an end. Currently, Lapins is the main variety, followed by Santina, Bing, Kordia and Regina. The overall quality is relatively stable. The hardness of Lapins is better. Because it is still in its early stages, it currently tastes a little sour. In terms of fruit size, currently, the most available sizes are J, JJ, and JJJ. Due to the good hardness of the fruits, buyers' demand has also changed from preferring small fruits to preferring large fruits of JJJ or above.” said a cherry importer.
"In terms of packaging, most of the current arrivals are in two-in-one specifications, which is consistent with recent market demand. It is worth mentioning that some new types of packaging have recently arrived, including fully enclosed and plastic frame packaging, in which carbon dioxide is injected to improve the preservation."
Cherries in new packaging
"In terms of price, the current wholesale price of 2.5KG Lapins 2JD is about ￥160-180/piece. The price in Shanghai is about ￥10/piece higher than that in Guangzhou. Prices have stabilized recently after experiencing significant fluctuations around New Year's Day. With the Spring Festival less than a month away, market demand is rising, merchants are more enthusiastic about purchasing, and nearly 70% to 80% of new arrivals are sold."
Large shipments of cherries have arrived in the port in the past two weeks. After the new arrivals last week, sales were relatively slow due to the large inventory in the market. The prices of the earlier arrivals were reduced by ￥10-30/piece and then sold one after another. As of this week, prices and quality have been generally stable and there are mostly new arrivals, making the overall sales smooth.
It is understood that the market has experienced a rapid increase in the volume of cherries but weak demand, causing prices to drop significantly. After the price reduction, as time went by, demand gradually increased, and sales began to improve.
The importer added: "For a short period after New Year's Day, the market price was lower than the wholesale price. This was due to the unsatisfactory quality of the arrivals at that time and the post-holiday price reduction. As the quality of current arrivals has improved, prices have gradually stabilized, and sales have improved."