"The Gannan Navel oranges did not absorb enough moisture this production season because the production areas suffered from drought late in the year. Many oranges are quite small and the overall production volume slightly declined in comparison with 2018. However, the market price is not expected to change much." This is according to manager Liu Hui of Anyuan County Navel Orange Brother Specialized Agricultural Cooperation, who shared insight in the retail conditions for Ganzhou Navel oranges this year.
"The Gannan Navel orange harvest begins on the 6th of November this year. The retail season is expected to continue until January next year. As for the price, we expect the market price to remain stable in comparison with last year. The expected price for regular Navel oranges is around 6-8 yuan [0.85-1.13 USD] per 0.5 kg, while the price for top quality Navel oranges is expected to reach as much as 10-15 yuan [1.41-2.11 USD] per 0.5 kg. The price for organic Navel oranges is even higher around 15-20 yuan [2.11-2.82 USD] per 0.5 kg."
Manager Liu further explained that, "Traders looking for large quantities started placing orders in September, but traders who are looking for quality waited until October before they placed their orders. They do not place their orders until the oranges are close to ripe. Some traders will even wait until November when the oranges are completely ripe before they place their orders."
Manager Liu also discussed the conditions of market distribution, "Our industry is currently focused on the domestic market. The better-quality Navel oranges are often delicately wrapped and sold in gift boxes. There are various retail channels. The traditional wholesale market is the quickest way to sell Navel oranges, but the volume of orders from e-commerce platforms grows every year. The wholesale traders mainly focus on Jiaxing Market and Xinfadi Market, whereas e-commerce platforms mainly operate in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Wenzhou. Beijing and Shanghai also have large groups who buy in large volumes."
These days, while the shopping patterns of Chinese consumers are continuously changing, many e-commerce platforms offer Gannan Navel oranges for prices that are difficult to believe. According to manager Liu, "Whether these are marketing strategies devised to attract more customers to e-commerce platforms or if they are simply false prices, the result is the same. These kinds of sales methods run against the regular pattern of market operations and they are misleading customers."
As for the future of Navel Orange Brother, manager Liu stated that, "large volumes of Gannan Navel oranges are exported to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Russia every year. Top-quality Gannan Navel oranges are even exported to Europe, Japan, and the USA. In recent years, many Navel orange orchards suffered from citrus greening disease. Their production volume declined and the product quality dropped. This certainly presents a challenge to the export of Gannan Navel oranges. However, at the moment, we have an organic orchard that covers 33 hectares and soon we hope to export top-quality organic oranges to customers in overseas markets."
The Navel Orange Brother Specialized Agricultural Cooperation is located in Anyuan County and was established in 2013. The cooperation is specialized in production and retail of citrus fruit. In addition to Gannan Navel oranges, the cooperation also produces Kara blood oranges, Red Beauty, kiwi fruit, peaches, and passion fruit."
For more information:
Liu Hui - Manager
Anyuan County Navel Orange Brother Specialized Cooperation
WeChat ID: 13132567592
Tel.: +86 18688811588
E-mail: 2383818803@qq.com