Watermelons and apples are the driving force behind the upward trend of the average fruit price in the Chinese market this year. Data from the Ministry of Agriculture shows that the price of Fuji apples has been on the rise for nine consecutive weeks, and the speed of the increase is gradually growing. Fuji apples are "taking the lead" in this phase of the fruit price fluctuation.
The main reason for the growing price of apples is supply shortage. Apple production areas in Shaanxi, Shandong, and Gansu suffered from cold weather in spring last year when the apple trees were in blossom. The overall apple production volume greatly declined. As a result, the volume of apples that entered storage last autumn was also much smaller than usual. The current supply is quickly running out. Furthermore, temperatures increased in May and warm weather makes storage of apples more difficult. This further pushed the price up. The apple supply volume is expected to decrease even further in June and July. The price will likely rise even higher. The price will come down again after August when the new harvest enters the market.
In addition to apples, watermelons also show a rapid price increase, even though the price recently came down. The purchase price of watermelons in Xinfadi Market is around 2.3 yuan [0.33 USD] per 0.5 kg. Data from the Ministry of Agriculture shows that this price is 30% higher than around the same time last year.
Apart from apples and watermelons, the price of pears also increased. The pear production areas in Hebei suffered similar cold weather as the apple production areas did and the overall production volume of Snow pears, Imperial Crown pears, and Ya pears declined. The current price of pears has been on the rise for nearly a month.
Source: Fruit Service Center