Mainland cherry prices drop below 10 yuan as sales approach final phase

On February 14, 2025, the price of cherries in mainland China dropped to single digits, with bulk boxes being sold off at wholesale markets in Wuhan. “Cherry prices fall below 10 yuan (RMB, the same below)” has become a hot search on February 14th.

Recently, a video circulating online showed many boxes of cherries being thrown into a garbage dump at a large fruit wholesale market in Wuhan. A worker in the truck was seen throwing bags of cherries onto the ground, while two others were packing paper boxes on the side.

Many netizens commented that cherry prices have indeed experienced a significant drop recently. “Cherries are not even worth a penny, surprising.” “I bought two boxes for 98 yesterday.” “Just now, cherries were 10 yuan per pound at the fruit store, was planning to pick some.”

According to Jiu Pai News, a visit to various stalls at the Guangxia Fruit Wholesale Market in Hubei on February 13 revealed many merchants displaying large quantities of cherries at discounted prices, such as “Special price, cherries 3J, 88 yuan per box” and “Buy one get one free, 4J cherries, 150 yuan for 20 pounds,” attracting many citizens to come and select.

The filmer of the aforementioned video, Mr. Chen, is a merchant at a fruit stall at the Guangxia Fruit Wholesale Market in Hubei. He mentioned that the video was taken two days ago when passing by the market’s garbage dump. Due to cherries turning bad after the new year, many were damaged, leading some merchants to discard them directly.

He explained that due to the long inventory time, many merchants’ cherries went bad. If there are a large number of damaged cherries, some merchants choose to dispose of them at the dump rather than selling them at low prices. However, if the cherries are of good quality with minimal damage, some merchants will sell them cheaply to street vendors, with prices dropping to single digits.

Mr. Chen stated that every day, merchants would dump rotten cherries into the garbage dump. With hundreds of fruit stalls at the Guangxia market, he has seen two large trucks’ worth of cherries being thrown away, totaling around a thousand pounds.

Reports mentioned that a merchant, Mr. Yu, at the Guangxia Fruit Wholesale Market, offered 10-pound boxes of 3J cherries for as low as 100 yuan each. He mentioned that these cherries were selling for nearly 300 yuan per box before the new year, and due to prolonged storage time and rising temperatures, they were now being cleared out.

Mr. Yu commented that cherry prices are currently at a “rock-bottom price,” with prices as low as 10 yuan per pound, some even dropping to single digits. However, with the price drop, more people are buying, with approximately over 200 boxes sold per day.

Due to the rising temperatures, cherry sales are nearing the end and will likely last for another two to three days.

Another stall’s merchant mentioned that 5-pound boxes of 3J cherries are now selling for 80 yuan each, reaching the lowest prices during the clearance sale. Cherry sales are ending soon, with two to three more days left.

After the end of the Chinese New Year holiday, the news of plummeting cherry prices has attracted consumer attention.

According to a report by Hai Bao News, visits to several fruit markets in Jinan revealed that cherries, once popular during the New Year, have quietly entered the “off-the-shelf wave.”

On the 12th, at the Qilibao Vegetable Wholesale Market in Jinan, it was challenging to find a merchant still selling cherries. The response received was, “Cherries are wholesale, 45 yuan per box, five pounds per box, and will be sold out in the next two days.”

Last winter, when Chilean air freight cherries first entered the market, prices in Jinan ranged from 80 to 120 yuan per pound. During the New Year period, prices were between 30 to 80 yuan per pound.

“Back in November when Chilean air freight cherries first hit the market, I bought a 4J box for nearly 500 yuan from Hema Fresh. Now I see a box for 339 yuan, which is relatively cheaper.” a Jinan resident, Ms. Peng, mentioned.

Meanwhile, several fruit stores along Huayuan Road in Licheng District, Jinan, have already removed cherries from their shelves. Store staff said that cherries are essentially out of season, and even though they may appear good on the outside, the taste is not as good as before.

In the grading system for cherries, especially those from the southern hemisphere such as Chile, “J” is often used to indicate the cherry’s diameter size. The more “J” there are, the larger the cherry. 1J typically represents a cherry with a diameter between 26-28 millimeters. 2J indicates a diameter between 28-30 millimeters. 3J indicates a diameter between 30-32 millimeters. 4J signifies a diameter larger than 32 millimeters.