The price of imported fruit dropped in China this year. Take the durian as an example, the original import price of durian used to be around 38 yuan [5.86 USD] per 0.5 kg, but is now around 20 yuan [3.09 USD] per 0.5 kg. How is this possible?
There are various factors that create this situation. First, the abundance of domestic fruit offers strong competition to imported fruit. Second, when the production volumes in overseas production areas grow and local market conditions are not great, then traders have no other option but to lower the prices for the export market. In addition, favorable policies stimulate export and keep the cost price low. These factors all help to explain the price decline of import fruit in the Chinese market.
Prices of import durian in China recently fell below 20 yuan [3.09 USD] per 0.5 kg. In many cities durian are on discount at 19.8 yuan [3.06 USD] per 0.5 kg. Still, the average price remains above 20 yuan. The main reason for this low price seems to be excessive supply. China primarily relies on import for the supply of durian, and Thailand is the main supplier, closely followed by Malaysia and Vietnam.
Around 98% of the durian on the Chinese market are import durian. One could say that the entire durian market in China is an import market, and that Thailand dominates this market. The value of Chinese durian import was around 15.8 billion yuan [2.44 billion USD] last year. That is an indication of just how much durian Chinese consumers buy. Durian have already overtaken cherries as the most important import fruit in China.
However, if the import volume grows every year, why is the price still so high? Price analysis of the Musang King durian from Malaysia shows that the Chinese market price of this durian increased by 300% in the last 5 years. And the price of regular durian remains high as well. In regular years the price of normal durian is more than 30 yuan [4.63 USD]. Only the abundant harvest this year has pushed the price down so that Chinese consumers can now eat Thai durian for only 20 yuan [3.09 USD] per 0.5 kg.
Source: Farmers Watch Farmers
