This week (week 7) the arrival of Valentine's Day [14 February, 2022] and the traditional Lantern Festival [15 February, 2022], stimulated fruit consumption in China. However, their impact on the market remained limited. Overall demand greatly declined after Chinese Spring Festival [1 February, 2022], and that trend is still holding. Various fruit prices dropped at different speeds. At the same time, some new seasonal fruits began to enter the market.
One importer of green apples from the USA said that, "the price of a box of green apples (19kg) is currently around 440 yuan [69.43 USD]. That is 25% less than before Spring Festival. However, whether before or after Spring Festival, market conditions have not been great. The supply volume of green apples is limited and the profit margin is small. Buyers are simply not that interested." Other import apples from the USA, such as Delicious, Gala, and Rose Red apples, suffer from similar market conditions in China.
The importer also said that the overall supply volume of these import apples is rather limited this year, and the price is not that high. Market conditions now are regular, although the apples did sell rather well before Spring Festival. Of course, conditions were not equal for all varieties. Rose Red apples, for example, stood out. Their sales conditions are still relatively good.
As for stone fruit, Australian plums entered the peak sales period in February. The product quality and market conditions are quite good. Large volumes of Chilean plums are expected to enter the market in March. They will reach China via air freight. Other than that, a new season has started for many import fruit varieties, and they are starting to conquer the Chinese market. Australian red grapes and Egyptian oranges are particularly popular with Chinese consumers.
