The second half of the 2015 apple season witnesses sharp decrease in apple prices. Prices came down in February and have struggled to gain grounds since then. Dalian Golden Apple Cooperation Limited is an apple grower, packer and exporter with a presence in Dalian and Shaanxi province.
The company has just finished the harvest of the early Red Gala variety and so far demand and prices have been strong. Alice Deng, the company’s export manager, explains: “The earliest Red Gala harvest has just been finished. Total volumes have decreased 30% compared to 2015. The two main reasons for this is that farmers have been cutting down apple trees because last year’s returns were so disappointing. In addition, cold weather and rains have damaged the blossoms in early Spring.”
Alice is positive about the season to come. “These early Red Gala apple harvest volumes are small compared to later Fuji and Golden Delicious crops and perhaps it is early to predict the coming months. However, his year, the supply of Red Star and Red Gala is expected to decrease compared to last season. As result the price is expected to be higher than last year. In the first weeks of the new season, buying price on the domestic market has been strong. In the past, at the beginning of the season, the collecting price is high. Then prices usually come down and remain stable. So far, Red Gala prices have started high and only decreased a little so far. We were fortunate that last’s year drop in apple prices did not cause many losses for us. When that happened, in February towards the second part of the season, we had almost no stocks left in our cold storage.”
“Our main export market is Southeast Asia, Russia and the USA. Theoretically, demand from Russia would have picked up since the country can no longer import fresh produce from Europe. We have over ten years export experience to Russia. However, in the last two year, payment terms have become very problematic with Russia. At the moment, we demand Russia buyers to pay the full amount up front. Our main market is Southeast Asia. We can export almost all varieties to these countries; Red Gala, Red Star, Fuji, Golden Delicious. If the market is good, customers are open to a wider range of varieties. Our companies has acquired all export licenses that are needed to supply the US and Australian market.”
