Countries around the world are currently affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, while China has been one of the earliest countries to resume production and social normality, but it will still take some time to return to the state before the outbreak. The fruit market in first-tier cities is gradually resuming operation, with local and imported fruit flooding into the market, while the sales situation in second-tier cities is unclear.
The manager of a large fruit trading company in Xi'an talked to us about the market situation in the wholesale market in Xi'an: “The overall fruit sales are very slow; in many cases, the sales price is even lower than the cost, so this is still a very difficult time for us. Every year, this market sells more local fruit than imported fruit. Although the volume of imported fruit is much lower than in Guangzhou or Shanghai, you can still get them."
Over the past few months, Egyptian oranges have arrived at markets across China, including Xi’an. “Sales this year are very slow. This is because this variety is mainly used for juicing or in fruit salad which is mostly supplied to venues of entertainment or restaurants. These places were closed during the past few months, so the low market demand has contributed to lasting low prices. Although there are still large volumes of Valencias from Egypt available in the market, most of them went directly into cold storage after arrival, in order to extend the shelf life until prices rise again. This is because there will be big losses if they are sold at the current price. "
"The market is waiting for a recovery but restaurants, theaters, and hotels still have very few customers, so daily revenue has dropped significantly. We are in a difficult period, but perhaps the economy will recover in the third or fourth quarter of this year and we need to remain optimistic. In the meantime, we will continue to provide the market with high-quality fruits to help people stay healthy. "