The first ship that carried containers with Chilean cherries to China arrived in Hong Kong in early December. The season of sea-freight cherries is already well under way. Manager Li of Shanghai Xing Feng Tai Fruit Co., Ltd. recently talked about the market conditions of import cherries.
There are rumors that Chinese market demand for Chilean cherries rapidly declined this season. The supply greatly exceeds demand. Manager Li addressed these rumors, “We estimate our import volume this season at around 40 containers, which is more or less the same as last year. We mainly sell our cherries in wholesale markets in eastern China. The sales conditions are quite good at the moment. All our cherries sell without delay. However, it is still too early to estimate how the domestic market will receive this season’s Chilean cherries. The import season continues until around February 25th, 2020. As for our own import volume, the first deliveries of the season were relatively small. We expect the import volume to grow towards the end of the month. At that time we will also have more market feedback.”
When asked about the impact of violent protests in Chile and Hong Kong on the cherry trade, manager Li replied, “These violent protests have not affected the cherry trade so far. Earlier in the season several ships were canceled because there was not enough cargo, but all the other ships have left Chile and arrived in Hong Kong according to schedule.”
In addition to cherries, Shanghai Xing Feng Tai Fruit also imports blueberries. “We mainly import our blueberries from Chile and Peru. The product quality of this season’s blueberries is excellent. The import price is more or less the same as in previous years. The economic situation in the Chinese domestic market is weaker than in previous years and the retail price of blueberries is 15% lower than in previous years. The market price in east China is around 80-120 yuan [11.74-17.21 USD] per box (of 1.5 kg).”
For more information:
Li – Manager
Shanghai Xing Feng Tai Fruit Co., Ltd.
Tel.: +86 021-34791989
E-mail: [email protected]
