The first half of November is already over. The new harvest of Chilean cherries is ripe and the first cherries entered the market in Beijing in early November. However, market demand for Chilean cherries is not as strong as last year.
The current wholesale price of Chilean cherries in Xinfadi Market is around 50-60 yuan [7.11-8.64 USD] per 0.5 kg. This price is much lower than around this time last year when the price of Chilean cherries was around 80-90 yuan [11.38-12.80 USD] per 0.5 kg. That is a price drop of 30 yuan [4.27 USD] per 0.5 kg. The Chilean cherries currently on the market arrived by air freight. In December the Chilean cherries will arrive by sea freight. Furthermore, cherries from Canada and Australia will arrive around the same time. The price will drop even further when that happens.
Some people in the industry state that the current market prospect is not great. Last year, the average sales volume of cherries was 300-500 boxes per day. This year the average sales volume is maybe several dozen at most. The main reason for this difference is that last year the cherries were popular with consumers. Everybody rushed the market to purchase cherries. This year the enthusiasm is less. Consumers are more rational in their consumption. The price is expected to drop by 10%-20% in comparison with last year.
Source: Beijing News