After the new apple season started, prices in the production areas continued to be high and did not fall as the season developed. Apples are the main product of Qingxin Fruit in Qingyang City. Ms. Joey Lee, from the company, said: "Starting from the early-ripening Gala, the price at origin has been high. In previous years, when a large number of mid- to late-ripening varieties came on the market, prices fell, but this year they have risen instead of falling."
According to Joey, the current origin price of red Fuji apples in Jingning, Gansu has exceeded ￥12/kg. In other major producing areas such as Qingyang in Gansu, Luochuan, Shaanxi, and Shandong, the origin price has exceeded ￥8/kg, which is 30% higher than last year’s average price. Joey is purchasing apples in the Aksu region of Xinjiang. It is reported that Xinjiang has had a bumper harvest this year, and the price of local bagged red Fuji is close to that of the inland areas.
"The price of apples is higher than expected, and the purchasing plan needs to be readjusted. At present, the price of the origin is high, but the market is very weak. The market inversion has caused many buyers to wait and see and reduce the storage. Some buyers with designated sales channels and designated prices are still receiving fruits, while others are waiting and watching. On the other hand, farmers are currently very motivated to take the initiative to store apples."
The reason for the high price is not yet clear. Joey estimates that it may be related to production reduction and the inheritance of the price trend of the previous production season: "This year, apple trees in many places in the northwest encountered frost during the flowering period, resulting in a reduction in production, with the production areas in Gansu having seen the greatest impact. The price of high-quality supply has been driven up, pushing up the prices of secondary supplies. In addition, the price of apples rose last year, and they were put into storage after the Spring Festival. Prices have been high and have risen steadily after the Qingming Festival. Following this trend, the market has remained high this year. There has not been a similar market for three or four years." Joey also added that this year, the prices of several major categories of fruits have started high but have gone down. However, the direction of the apple market has not been clear yet.
Regarding the quality, Joey said it was generally acceptable, but not as good as last year. "Especially in the northwest region, there was frost during the flowering period and continuous rainfall for a month starting in August, which affected the fruits and the overall quality was not as good as last year."
In response to this year's special market situation, Joey said that she currently only operates products that she can control. Since the company's main business is online sales and can receive pre-orders, Joey makes purchase plans based on the sales, reduces inventory, and remains on the sidelines of the market. On the other hand, for some new varieties that are highly popular in the market, such as Ruixue, and Venus Golden, there will be a certain amount of stocking due to the market demand for new products and the price increase is less than that of traditional varieties.
"The northwest region has experienced frost and late spring cold weather in the past five years, which has had a great impact on the harvest. How to deal with frost damage should become an urgent problem for apple cultivation across the country."
Qingxin Fruit in Qingyang City sells various varieties of apples under the brand name "Qingxin Zhuangyuan”. The company has an orchard base of over 66 hectares, a 20,000-ton cold storage and an automatic sorting line, and uses wholesale markets, exports and online sales as its main channels.