People have recently kept a close watch on the market price of Shatang oranges. The weather in Guangxi and Guangdong is relatively warm and the oranges matured early, about 10-15 days earlier than last year. The current wholesale price is 5.5 yuan [0.80 USD] per 0.5 kg for top-quality Shatang oranges; 4.5 yuan [0.65 USD] for medium-quality oranges; 3.8 yuan [0.55 USD] for regular oranges; and around 3 yuan [0.44 USD] for the lowest quality oranges.
The price of Shatang oranges went down around Chinese New Year in 2018. There have been plenty rumors but no solid price analysis of this event. The main reasons were poor flavor because of poor weather, and the farmer's hesitance to sell. If the flavor is poor, then consumers buy the oranges once, taste them, and lose their appetite for Shatang oranges. The sales volume and the price then drops. If consumers do like the flavor, then sales volume and price both increase.
People in the industry say that the price is still not bad this early in the season. They expect that the price will slightly fall when Shatang oranges enter the market in large volumes. The price is not as good as the 5-6 yuan [0.73-0.87 USD] in recent years, but neither will the price of Shatang oranges drop as low as the prices of Fengmi and Gong tangerines. The top-quality Shatang oranges from Lipu, Yongfu, Yangshuo, and Xiangzhou in Guilin, Guangxi, will enter the market in the 2-4 weeks before Chinese New Year, which is the peak period of orange consumption, and the prices are therefore likely to rise.
