In the past week, the Shanghai market saw a small peak in supplies of oranges and grapes. This caused an overall drop in the market quotation for oranges. Chilean grapes on the other hand still sell smoothly and also Indian grapes have gone up in price from 130 RMB to 160 RMB. A strong debut for Indian grapes indeed in 2017.
In the past weeks, the US Late lane navel oranges were still in the beginning of the season. There is a limit to their export to China, so the overall market quotation is fluctuating around 400 RMB (46-scale case). In the past week, the supply of goods increased so the late-season navel oranges of normal quality gradually dropped from 400 RMB to 340 RMB(#88 norm). The price of late-season navel oranges of good quality is still in the range of 360 RMB to 370 RMB.
They are not alone. Also the Egyptian summer oranges (Valencia) are going down in price. A large case of 15 kg went from around 150 RMB to around 130 RMB (#64 norm) and the overall sales speed also slowed down. The supply of Spanish navel oranges on the other hand is diminishing, but because the overall quality of the oranges is lower than before, the market price is also sliding downward. #54 norm, for example, has dropped to a price of 180 RMB to 190 RMB with a slowed down sales speed.
The volume of grapes from the Southern hemisphere is increasing as well. But when we compare the imported grapes from Chile, Peru and Australia, only Chilean grapes are selling smoothly and for a good price. An example is the XL norm. XL red grapes of good quality can sell for 160 RMB to 170 RMB. The Peruvian red grapes are at the end of the season now and have a stable price. J norm grapes fetch a price of around 140 RMB to 150 RMB, but they sell slowly. The Australian seedless grapes of this season don't get high prices at all. Knowing that the production costs have increased slightly compared to last year, the oranges are sold at an average price below 300 RMB and they sell slowly as well.
The only grapes imported in Shanghai from the Northern hemisphere come from India. Compared to last year, the packaging and taste of the Indian grapes have clearly improved. At the same time, the Indian grapes are all seedless black grapes. Other countries mostly export red grapes, so they don't have the same competitive strength. The Chilean black grapes from this season are still in a period of increasing taste and Australian black grapes are mainly supplying high-end markets. These combined factors create a void on the market for the Indian black grapes, so their price has been going up in the past two weeks.
The only real competition on the market comes from the Chilean green grapes. Nonetheless, it is reasonable to expect that the price for an 8.2kg case will remain at 230 RMB with a smooth sales speed.
