The price of star anise is mainly affected by weather in the producing areas and market supply and demand

The star anise price refers to the market conditions for dried star anise fruit at both the purchasing stage in producing areas and the terminal sales stage. Star anise, also known as star aniseed or dàliào, is the dried mature fruit of the star anise tree (Illicium verum). It is mainly produced in the southern mountainous areas of Guangxi, Yunnan and Guangdong. It is not only an indispensable spice for home braising and stewing, but also an important raw material for spice oil and medicinal extraction, and its market fluctuations have long drawn the attention of growers and distributors.

Several factors mainly affect the star anise price. First, weather and yield: if the star anise tree encounters drought, frost or continuous rain during flowering and fruit set, the fresh fruit yield for that year will decline, and the purchase price will rise accordingly. Second, quality and grade: large red star anise with intact points, reddish-brown color and no sulfur fumigation is of a high grade, and its price is usually higher than that of ordinary goods and broken points. Third, supply and demand relations, including the pace of new fruit coming onto the market, traders' inventories, and the strength of downstream demand from the seasoning market and spice oil processing.

From a seasonal perspective, star anise has two harvests a year, autumn fruit and spring fruit. Autumn fruit has a large yield and better quality; when it is concentrated on the market, supply is abundant, and prices are often relatively stable or low, while prices tend to rise during the lean period between harvests. In addition, the drying ratio of fresh fruit and changes in labor costs such as picking and sun-drying are also reflected in the quotations for dried fruit.

For growers and buyers, paying timely attention to market information from producing areas and reasonably arranging shipping batches are common ways to cope with price fluctuations. When purchasing, one should also pay attention to distinguishing authenticity. Wild mangcao (Illicium anisatum) looks similar to star anise but is toxic, so it is advisable to buy through formal channels and choose dried fruit with regular points and pure aroma.