Decoding the “degree of freedom” of Guangzhou fruits
The topic of Cheerilee's "freedom" has attracted frequent attention on social networking sites. This year, the public’s enthusiasm for purchasing cherries continues to rise. In the past few days, reporters investigated the Guangzhou fruit market and learned that the price of cherries has been falling. Compared with shortly after they were launched in November last year, they are about 60 yuan cheaper per catty. The Spring Festival is approaching, and cherries have entered a very hot sales season. Many fruit merchants predict that the price of cherries may rise during the period leading up to the Spring Festival.
Market research: Most of the early cherries were of poor quality
According to Su Yingyi (pseudonym), a purchasing staff member of the e-commerce platform "Benlife", the origins of imported cherries on the current market include Chile, New Zealand, Australia, etc. Among them, Chilean cherries are mainly transported by sea, and the rest are mostly transported by air. . There are more than 10 varieties of imported cherries, including Santina, Rabins, Cordia, Bin, Royal Dawn, etc. The reporter investigated the situation of many online and offline fruit merchants and found that the last time the price of cherries was reduced, it was about Two weeks ago, the average price dropped by 5 to 8 yuan/catty, and the average price was around 50 yuan/catty. Compared with the price of about 120 yuan shortly after it was launched in November 2023, it was 60 to 70 yuan per catty cheaper. Different grades The price of cherries in China varies greatly. The relatively affordable Chilean cherries cost around 40 yuan per catty, while New Zealand cherries cost around 80 yuan per catty.
Mr. Liu, the owner of a fruit shop near Yide Road in Yuexiu District, said that the Santina variety of cherries was a hot-selling variety some time ago. It has now entered the end of its period, and the current market price (J) is around 30 yuan/jin; Dia is almost the best quality variety among cherries, and the market price (3J) is around 40-50 yuan/jin. According to the size of the fruit diameter, cherries are divided into different grades such as L, XL, J, 2J, 3J, etc., and the prices are also different. Mr. Liu said that the "large fruit" of 3J is the most popular.
He Dan, head of fruit procurement for Hema Guangfo Region, said that domestic cherries are still the main force in fruit sales. Compared with the first week of December last year, the sales of cherries increased nearly 7 times in the first week of January.
In the cherries sales area of Guangzhou Jiangnan Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market, cabinets of about two meters worth of cherries stand behind the stalls of fruit wholesalers. Fruit wholesaler Yang Shangdian told reporters that cherries start to go on the market at the end of October every year and continue to be available until February of the following year. The current average price of cherries per piece (about 5 pounds) is around 180 yuan, which is about 40 yuan/piece lower than half a month ago. When it first came on the market, the average price of each piece of cherries was as high as five to six hundred yuan. Su Yingyi said that after New Year's Day, the price of 5 kilograms of cherries was about 190 yuan, and dropped to about 160 yuan a week later.
Citizen Linqian recently achieved the "freedom" of cherries. A few days ago, she bought a box (about 500g) of cherries from Pagoda Garden. They are large in size and have a crispy and sweet taste. The price is 35.9 yuan. However, the quality of the cherries, which cost more than thirty yuan, is acceptable, but there are not many hard fruits and some are a bit soft.
Yang Shangdian believes that the quality of cherries was poor in the early stage due to the rainy weather in the production area, and there were many cracked, rotten, and soft fruits. Coupled with insufficient consumption, there was a certain backlog in the early stage. "Last year, we sold 77,888 yuan as soon as we opened the cabinet, and wholesalers were rushing to buy it. This year, we saw that the upper-level dealers kept calling and selling, but they couldn't sell it." The quality is also getting worse day by day, which makes Santina The price of cherries, which are expected to be released in the early stage, has dropped. Mr. Zeng, a fruit wholesaler, said that this year’s market is much worse than in previous years. “In the past few years, when the market was good, the stall could sell many batches of 900 kilograms of goods a day. This year, we can only sell two or three batches, which is a bit unsaleable. "
During the interview, the reporter found that when purchasing goods, wholesalers can only judge the quality of cherries by looking at the top few boxes. In the early stage, most of the cherries were of poor quality and the market fell, resulting in shrinking profit margins for fruit wholesalers. Some e-commerce platforms have also received more complaints about the quality of cherries.
Why can Cheerilee be "free"?
Reason 1: The arrival of cherries is so large that they cannot be sold.
Changes in the price of cherries are mainly affected by quality, but also by volume and market trends. The price has been falling in the past, and many fruit merchants believe that it is related to the increase in the arrival of seaborne cherries. Su Yingyi revealed that the scheduled arrival times of many e-commerce platforms such as Hema and JD.com were all in mid-January. The arrival volume was large and sales could not keep up, so the market fell. He Dan, head of fruit procurement in Hema Guangfo region, said that currently there are about 200 cabinets of cherries in the Jiangnan Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market (3,600 pieces per cabinet), mainly shipping Chilean cherries, and the main varieties are Labins. On January 24, the opening price of 2J (5kg) cherries was 350~370 yuan/piece, and the opening price of 3J (2.5kg) cherries was 210~220 yuan/piece.
Reason 2: Shipping costs have dropped significantly
The significant drop in transportation costs for cherries is another important reason. Mr. Peng, a fruit wholesaler, said that when cherries first came on the market, they were mainly transported by air. They arrived in the Chinese market within a week, seizing the "early adopter" soup market; in the middle of last month, cherries entered the peak production season, and transportation As the volume increases, it is mainly transported by sea to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin and other places, and the transportation time is about one month. Su Yingyi said that air and sea freight costs are relatively high in the early stage. The air freight cost of transporting a piece of cherries at the end of October last year was about 100 yuan, and the sea freight cost at the beginning of December was 70 or 80 yuan. After New Year's Day, the price of sea shipping dropped to about 40 yuan/piece, and most merchants chose sea shipping to transport cherries. The current sales ratio of cherries shipped by air and sea is about 3:7.
Prediction: Cherry prices will not drop again before the holiday
The Spring Festival is approaching, and cherries will usher in the peak sales season. Yang Shangdian said that based on previous years, the sales of cherries during the Spring Festival accounted for 70% of the total sales. Now, their daily sales volume is about 1,800 kilograms; Su Yingyi said that the cherries sold during this period accounted for about 1,800 kilograms of total sales. At the end of the day, the sales of cherries were about 700,000 to 800,000 yuan. 3J cherries packed in 5-pound original boxes are relatively hot-selling. “The original box has a long shelf life, and the unit price is easier to accept. It is also more suitable for gift giving than unpacking small sizes.” China Resources Vanguard also said that store bulk and gift boxes Packaged cherries are available, but cherries in gift boxes are more popular.
"Cherries benefit from the Spring Festival bonus. They are a single product that brings its own traffic and dividends." Many fruit dealers believe that cherries are a popular fruit with traffic, and people are willing to spend more during the Spring Festival. Pay for various consumer goods, and dealers will also seize the sales peak during the Spring Festival.
He Dan said that the current supply of goods is sufficient and the market is stable. Second-batch and terminal traders in many markets have begun to stock up, and the buying atmosphere is very strong. Therefore, the overall price trend of the market has not continued to decline in recent days, and is basically the same as last week. Many fruit dealers also predict that the price of cherries will not drop again before the holiday, but may rise, especially for high-quality cherries. "Now the price is going to rise, because the quality is there, bad goods are cheaper, and good goods are not enough to sell." After the Spring Festival, cherries have also entered the end of the appreciation period, and the flavor has deteriorated, and the sales period will begin. Price lowest.
Origin of cherries: Chile, New Zealand, Australia and other places.
Chilean cherries: Mainly transported by sea, and the rest by air.
There are more than 10 varieties of imported cherries: Santina, Rabins, Cordia, Bin, Royal Dawn, etc.
Cherries are divided into different grades according to fruit diameter: L, XL, J, 2J, 3J, etc. The "large fruit" of 3J is the most popular.
Market situation: The prices of different grades of cherries vary greatly. The relatively affordable Chilean cherries cost around 40 yuan per catty, while the New Zealand cherries cost around 80 yuan per catty. The price of 5kg 2J Chilean cherries in a gift box is about 369 yuan per box, and the price of 2.5kg 3J Chilean cherries in a gift box is about 258 yuan per box.
Text/Guangzhou Daily All-Media Reporter Zeng Fanying Trainee Reporter Lu Hui (except for signature)
Column coordinator/Guangzhou Daily all-media reporter Cao Teng