Rising Fruit Price
Harris
Students in Jinan University have to brace themselves for fruit prices rising this week. Sophomore Zhao Zhi said the fruit prices have already increased a week ago. It is unacceptable to see the prices went up again by 5 percent to 10 percent.
“Fruit is the necessity of life. I know prices rise from time to time, but it is too exaggerating to see prices go up twice in a short period,” Zhao said.
Zhao is not the only student who thinks fruit is too expensive. Clinical Medicine student ChenHaoling also said the successive price adjustments went too far. He said apples, oranges, litchis and other fruit prices all went up sharply. Even the price of fruit salads, the cheapest assorted fruit dish in Xingan Supermarket, swung up 20 percent to 30 percent in a month.
“Students who come from poor families are on the verge of failing to afford such expensive fruits,” Chen said.
According to Xingan Supermarket staff, all fruit prices soared this year. Fuji apple prices have risen to 12 yuan per kilogram compared to 4 yuan per kilogram for the last year. The Crown pears that cost 4 yuan per kilogram last year are now as high as10 yuan per kilogram. Litchi took the steepest price hike in the market from6.6 yuan per kilogram to 20 yuan per kilogram.
Hou Baoquan, the manager of Xingan Supermarket, explained that the price hike is due to the terrible climate. The consecutive rainy days slashed the litchi yield of last year, thus many farmers are unwilling to grow it this year. Then, the short supply forced the price of litchis to go up consistently.
Hou said May and June are the slack seasons for the seasonal south fruit supply. The fruit supply will thrive after the harvest of this autumn, and he estimated the price should go down then.
Picture: Two students are picking the fruits. ~ photo by Camilla