New season Australian navels received a poor reception when they arrived in Hong Kong last weekend on 13/14 June, market sources have told Fruitnet.
“Fruit was green, Brix levels were low and the prices were very poor,” said one importer.
“Fruit has been selling for as little as HK$60-70 (US$7.74-9.03) per 22kg carton, and people are losing a lot.”
The ongoing strong performance of Californian navels in the marketplace has been a key factor in the poor reception for Australian arrivals, say trade sources.
While California navel supplies have been lighter this year, the quality has been generally good and prices have reflected this.
“The market has been so good on US oranges that nobody wants to handle oranges from elsewhere right now,” said one importer.
California navels have been fetching HK$240-280 (US$31-36) per carton in the 72-88 count size range.
Meanwhile, the first new season South African navels hit the China market last week. Arrival quality was reportedly good, with fruit fetching firm prices of around Yn150-170 per carton.
The navel outturns represent a marked improvement on the first arrivals of South African lemons and grapefruit two months ago, which were blighted by problems with soft fruit condition and pitting.
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