Wholesale Market Report, Week 33: Red Hot Citrus

Weather is still very hot even after canicular day. People will think of keeping the body cool and replenishing body liquid when they select their fruits. Citrus are welcome for these reasons. Currently, the market has plenty of Australian Navel Oranges, and Australian Cara Cara Oranges, South African Oranges and South African Grapefruits.

Australian Navel Oranges are mainly represented by the Sun Garden and Sunkist brands. Compared with Sunkist, Sun Garden has bigger incoming shipments this week. The tastes of different brands of Navel do not differ much, being essentially sweet and slightly tart, with plenty of juice. Sunkist is a stronger brand and its fruits have better hardness, and so it commands a price premium over other brands. For the same box of 80 oranges, Sun Garden’s market price is between RMB320 and RMB330. Sunkist sells for RMB350. However, in traditional channels, Sunkist sells better. Second level wholesale markets and supermarkets prefer Sunkist while also stocking Sun Garden. For e-commerce merchants, Sun Garden is more in demand because of its lower price while quality differential is not significant. Overall, Australian Navel Oranges’ sales volumes are very good.

Market demand for Australian Cara Cara Oranges has always been fairly good. However, as relatively big quantities of goods arrived of late, stock movements are fairly average. The main brands are Sun Garden, Red Earth and Sunkist and their prices are essentially the same. The price for a box of 40 is around RMB230. Sunkist has also plenty of Cara Cara arriving but its sales are higher.

South African Oranges’ taste is quite average, slightly more sour, and the color is lighter. The market has plenty of South African Oranges. 3 containers arrived on August 12. Sales turnover for South African Oranges is rather average but prices are relatively competitive. A box of 64 South African Oranges is sold for RMB180 to RMB190. Downward price pressure is expected.

South African Grapefruits’ incoming shipments have been relatively small. Although quality is average, with some marks on the surface, the overall fruits’ hardness is very good. Market price has increased slightly but demand is still strong. Grapefruits are generally very tart but juicy. A box of 40 sells for around RMB190. Overall sales are decent. Late period shipments are few and hence price decline is not expected.

Zhanhui Market’s Prices as of August 12:

Australian Oranges: RMB320-360 / box（19KG）

Australian Cara Cara Orange: RMB220-230/box（10KG）

South African Oranges：RMB180-190/box（15KG）

South African Grapefruits：RMB190元/box（15KG）