In many apple production areas, such as Yuncheng in Shanxi and Yiyuan in Shandong, the panic selling of apples from refrigerated storage has gradually begun to speed up. This development has various causes, including a decreased product quality from supply sources and a relatively large volume in storage. In Yuncheng in particular there seems to be a different price for every trade deal. The market has become chaotic. Apple trading in Yiyuan has also scattered and the price constantly caves in. Apple supply sources such as refrigerated storage and apple farmers are in an increasingly disadvantaged position. Visiting traders select fruit and their leisure and create pressure on the price.
Apples
There are roughly three aspects to the urgent sales of apples from refrigerated storage:
1. The quality of apples in refrigerated storage is going down. As temperatures increase the quality drops off and this is particularly obvious for the product quality of apples in Yuncheng.
2. The volume in storage is larger than in previous years, and product movement is slow. In many production areas in Shandong the volume in storage is 10%-20% large than in the same period last year. Even more importantly, many areas suffer from unmarketable apples, with the exception of Yantai, in Shandong, where sales are smooth.
3. Sales are depressed by the traditional slack season in apple sales. June is the time when seasonal fruits take over the market. Apples suffer the most from this onset of seasonal fruits.
Source: Fruit Service Center