The pricing certification center with the Shenzhen Municipal Development and Reform Commission recently investigated the city’s fruit prices and confirmed that the prices had experienced significant increases compared to the same period last year due to factors like reduced output.
However, the center together with the Shenzhen team of the National Bureau of Statistics maintained that the rising prices would not continue and prices would drop in the second half of the year, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported.
In Shenzhen, prices for some fruits have increased by between 40 and 50 percent compared to last year. Among them, the price for Fuji apples saw the largest increase, reaching 21.64 yuan (US$3.13) per kilogram in May, up 44 percent from the same period a year earlier.
The whole country has also been experiencing a similar phenomenon. Of five types of fruits, namely Fuji apples, Jufeng grapes, bananas, pineapples and watermelons, only the price of pineapples dropped in May, the report said.
The primary reason behind the rising prices is the abnormal weather nationwide. Also, the increase in distribution channels has had a negative impact. Finally, the competition between imported and domestic fruits has also lead to higher-quality local fruits, resulting in higher prices, the Shenzhen team told the Daily.
However, the center believes that there is no need for concern about the prices rising too much, because fruit normally has high prices when they are brought to the market in a new year. The prices will drop gradually as more varieties of fruit are available for sale.
Fruit markets in Shenzhen offer many choices for customers all year round, so the center advises residents to consume those with a low price instead of the higher-priced ones.