The pomelo production season is currently at high speed. Compared to last year, 30% less pomelos were produced in the whole of China. Many pomelos also don't look well as they have spots on the peel. But the fruit flesh is very juicy and the taste is rich. Notwithstanding the underproduction, the market price has remained stable. It is estimated that the price will slightly climb upward near the end of the production season.
Production 30% less
Weather conditions are the main factor that influence the growth of pomelos. At the start of the year, there was a rather long period of cold weather that caused many pomelos to rot on the hills and made the fruits miss the grafting period. This led to a drop of the production volume. Moreover, because the winter period was very wet last year and the pomelo flowers didn't bloom much, pomelo trees that were in the first stages of growing fruit and blossoming lost a lot of fruit. White pomelos were hit severely.
Stable market prices
Because of the cold weather at the start of the year, the pomelos came on the market two weeks late. This means that the farmers missed the sales peak of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Some farmers harvested their pomelos early in order to still tap into the festival market. But this is sure to have influenced the quality of their products. The desire of the consumers to buy was also greatly dampened after they bought pomelos with an unsatisfactory taste, which affected sales. The fact that the pomelos aren't graded in terms of quality is a key problem on the market. That being said, the selling figures for pomelos of good quality aren't bad.
When it comes to export, trading companies have started another price war. The competition drives down the prices as companies strive to sell more. Compared to last year, export prices are still slightly higher at 6 USD to 7 USD for a case of 11 kg due to increased transport costs.
Consumption favours stability
Both Chinese and foreign consumers like it when nothing changes. Chinese consumers give high importance to the nutritional value of the pomelos. So even though the price of the red pomelos exceeds that of the white pomelos, they still sell rather smoothly in China. Foreign consumers give priority in their considerations to the price, so white pomelos are their first choice.
Both Chinese and foreign consumers like it when nothing changes. Chinese consumers give high importance to the nutritional value of the pomelos. So even though the price of the red pomelos exceeds that of the white pomelos, they still sell rather smoothly in China. Foreign consumers give priority in their considerations to the price, so white pomelos are their first choice.