Aussie lychees are thirsting after China with producers rushing to harvest and ship the fruits as the Lunar New Year demand mounts.
Shipments from the domestic lychee capitals of North Queensland in northeast Australia and the island of Tasmania are closely following the October-March harvest.
Mid-January through early February marks the second busiest time of the year after Christmas for farmers. Tens of kgs of the delicious Litchi chinensis stone fruits have of late been leaving Melbourne port daily, bound for native China.
The rush follows heightened orders of red cherries and lychees as gifts during the “Year of the Snake” that starts January 29, 2025.
Premium Aussie Lychees
Already, the red fruit is getting pricey in Australia to almost Christmas levels. Some businessmen are selling a kg at A$20 ($12.51), nearly 40% year-on-year.
According Larry Griffin, a Townsville businessman, talking to ABC, the premium price mostly owes to a rain-saturated poor harvest.
Some parts of North Queensland apparently received 400 mm of rainfall smack on the harvest timing in December 2024.
Based on trade flow from his suppliers, Griffin expects farmers to have 30 to 40% less yields this season.
Seasonality and International Market Squeeze
Other than high foreign demand, the high lychee pricing in Australia also owes to a limited season which ends by March.
Outbound Lunar New Year demand will increase the pressure on demand, given that Hong Kong is a huge importer. In 2021, Hong Kong emerged the third top export destination for Aussie lychees at 85,000 kg worth A$1,190,850 ($744,876).
Hong Kong’s 2021 import price was mid-range at A$14.01 ($8.76) a kg while Indonesia’s tipped the scale at A$19.08 ($11.93).
In comparison, domestic grocers’ prices of lychees in Australia were between A$18 and 35 ($11.26-21.89) a kg, January 22, 2024.
In a word, demand and top prices are swaying the fortunes of Australia’s lychees this Chinese New Year, despite a stock rundown. For further bits on the lychee sector of the Land Down Under, skim the statistics below.
Australia Lychees Statistics
Australia is a top 10 world producer of lychees in a highly exclusive club while China, the native origin of lychees, tops production. In 2018, Australia produced 2,000 tonnes of lychees, the 7th highest behind China’s lead at 200,000 tonnes or 63% of the world’s production. In 2019, Australia’s production total improved slightly to 2,733 tonnes, worth A$34.4 million ($21.52 million). As of 2021, Australia was exporting around 20 to 25% of its lychee output.
Which are the top lychee export destinations for Australia?
According to the Australian Lychee Growers Association (ALGA), New Zealand received 119 tonnes of lychees in 2021, the highest that year. The United States followed with 110 tonnes, with Hong Kong next at 85 tonnes while Singapore rounded up the top 5 markets with 80 tonnes.
Which destinations are most lucrative for Aussie lychees?
Using export price gauge, the most lucrative export market is Indonesia and Singapore, each commanding over A$19 ($11.89) per kg (2021). The Middle East commands the lowest export prices, with the UAE and Qatar at A$10 and 11 ($6.26-6.88) per kg, respectively (2021).
Are people in Australia big lychee consumers?
According to research, 12% of household grocery buyers include lychees in their shopping list or 345 grams per shopping bout, as of June 2019. Some A$29.6 million ($18.5 million) worth of lychees in Australia infiltrate local retail while A$3.4 million ($2.1 million) permeate the food industry (2019).