Why is fruit cheaper than in previous years? Multiple factors at work
Right now is the season with the most abundant fruit supply of the year, with a dazzling variety, and residents can also clearly feel that overall fruit prices this year are considerably cheaper than in previous years.
Recently, when visiting Taiyuan Zhenhua Freight Yard for an interview, just after entering the market gate, I ran into several shopkeepers discussing the sluggish fruit market. One of the stallholders greeted warmly when he saw someone coming, "Newly listed persimmons, tasty and inexpensive, apples are also cheap, wholesale price 2.3 yuan per jin, oranges this one 1.2 yuan, this one 1.5 yuan, look at these pears, they sell for one yuan." The stallholder introduced the prices of several fruits in a rapid stream.
A person in charge surnamed Yin from the market's fruit management area told us that this year's fruit market is in a state of supply exceeding demand, so prices have declined overall. The reasons are as follows: first, fruit-producing regions are constantly increasing. Take grapes as an example. In the past, one grape variety might have had only one producing region, but now, with the continuous development of scientific management levels and technology, large producing regions are constantly forming. Traditional producing regions such as Xinjiang and Northeast China are facing fierce competition from rising newcomers such as Jiangxi and Hebei. With more producing regions and increased output, market demand cannot absorb the inventory in a short time, so prices naturally come down. Second, foreign fruit keeps flowing in. Take bananas as an example. In the past, banana production areas were mainly Hainan and other places, but now imported fruits from Vietnam, Laos and other places keep pouring in, causing severe competition. In addition, due to heavy downward pressure on the economy, some fruit deep-processing manufacturers have cut production capacity, leading to increased fruit inventory and further shrinking fruit prices. The overlap of the above reasons directly led to fruit prices being unable to rise this year. Compared with previous years, overall fruit prices this year have dropped by about 1 yuan per jin, and some by even more.