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Imported
Nuts and This Chinese New Year 2002
Pistachios, of all imported tree nut varieties for sale in China,
appear to have the highest consumer demand during this year's
Spring Festival period. Aside from the larger scale distributors
who maintain store fronts on Yide Road, the main nut wholesaling
location in Guangzhou, over two dozen different individuals on
this same street are selling pistachios by the kilogram from open
boxes of loose pistachios. Street vendors' current pistachio prices
range from 40 to 50 RMB (U.S.$ 4.84 to 6.05) per kilogram, while
the price range among companies with Yide Road store front operations
is slightly lower. Unfortunately, according to local traders,
many of the pistachios for sale are of Iranian origin. The main
reason for the greater availability of Iranian pistachios is price
and Iranian pistachios are less expensive. One source says that
a container of Iranian nuts is 3,000 to 4,000 RMB (U.S.$ 363.20
to 484.26) less expensive than a similar container of American
pistachios.
In shell almonds now are more prevalent. When imported almonds
were initially sold to the local public in China, most almonds
had been shelled before they were reached the consumer. At the
present time, the reverse appears to be true. Traders and wholesalers
cite price as the main reason. Almonds with shells are less expensive.
For example, one street vendor is currently selling in-shell almonds
for approximately 30 RMB (U.S.$ 3.63) per kilogram and shelled
almonds for about 40 RMB (U.S.$ 4.84) per kilogram. Among wholesalers,
the price difference is narrower. One wholesaler currently quotes
in-shell almonds at about 25 RMB (U.S.$ 3.03) per kilogram and
shelled almonds at around 30 RMB (U.S.$ 3.63) per kilogram.
Hazelnuts are now more plentiful in the market than during previous
years, but amounts are small relative to other imported nuts.
However, traders complain that profits from hazelnut sales are
low, earning their distributors only two to four Jiao (U.S.$ 0.02
to 0.05) per kilogram.
While Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) remains the best sales
period for nuts, the May Day holiday period for a few traders
has begun to assume greater importance. One local trader recently
told Post that sales during the May Day period are higher than
normal, but still much lower than Spring Festival volumes. This
nut trader also noted that long vacation periods in China always
lead to higher sales. However, many distributors and wholesalers
still do not view the May Day holiday period as a big sales time.
A nut processor in Guangzhou says that their sales for the May
Day holiday period are usually about the same as during non-holiday
periods. A couple of Yide Road wholesalers expressed similar sentiments.
Only over the past couple of years has the Chinese government
created the extended May Day holiday period. In general, according
to local traders, during each year, imported nuts sales are generally
higher from Mid-Autumn Festival in September to the May Day holiday
in early May. They also added that sales usually drop during hot
weather.
The major holiday periods in China every year are the Chinese
New Year (Spring Festival) in January or February, National Day
on October 1, and May Day on May 1. In recent years, the Chinese
government has expanded the number of consecutive vacation days
for these holidays and has been attempting to promote greater
consumer spending during holidays. The Chinese New Year holiday
is the biggest holiday season in China and gift giving is an important
holiday tradition. In the 1990s, U.S. dried fruits and nuts succeeded
in becoming major gift items for the holidays.
Despite the increased prevalence of factory direct nuts sales,
distributors and wholesalers at Guangzhou's Yide Road say that
buyers from other regions in China still come to the their store
fronts to buy nuts. However, these buyers' purchasing tends to
be smaller and sporadic in comparison with those who buy directly
from processors' factories.
The exchange rate between the Chinese RMB and the U.S. Dollar
is approximately 8.26 RMB per Dollar.
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