Early season cherry import glut by China from Chile has undercut retail prices by 40% starting November 2025 through week 1 of January 2026.
Customers in Chengdu in west-central China are purchasing a 5-pound box at 159 yuan ($22.75), unimaginable this time last year.
Some grocers are offering plus-sized 4J cherries for 50 yuan ($7.16) a pound, down from 78 yuan ($11.2).
Others are selling at 97.83 yuan ($14) per box, especially 2J (smallest) and 3J (medium-sized) fruit size categories.
Such generosity indicates a robust early marketing season from Chile, 90% of whose cherry exports target China.
Although the Latin American origin says supplies in the current season may eventually diminish, it is making impressive early export progress.
Improving logistics are also cheapening the produce, especially via north China’s new Tiajing port, which effectively cut voyage times from Chile by 5 days.
Guangzhou in the south however remains the largest gateway and on January 2 it received 26,000 tonnes of Chile’s cherries.
According to Frutas de Chile’s president Ivan Marambio via the Global Times , the direct “Cherry Express” shipping line has seen China-bound voyages double to 32 versus 2024-25.
Quicker customs have also eased the cost burden for transporters, further helping bring down cherry market prices in China.
Fast interior transportation by road or air from Tiajing or Guangzhou ports is in turn conveying foreign cherries into minor cities.
The upcoming China Cherry Mid-Season Summit on January 14 in Guangzhou will see extra promotional efforts in small cities.
Whether this will at last ease the price pressure remains to be seen. One early projection indeed expects prices in the nearing Chinese New Year to bottom out to 30 yuan ($4.29) a kg. Before that happens, skim the below stats on China’s historical cherry rates from export and retail angles.
China Cherry Prices Statistics
China has historically sold cherries at premium at retail or export markets, apart from holiday or high supply timings. One such glut timing was February 2025 when import prices reduced by 15.8% monthly, to $4,921 a tonne. The reverse was true for export free-on-board (FOB) prices, with China selling the fruit at $9,732 a tonne.
Any collapse in the import price from in-bound surplus normally cuts retail prices considerably. In February 2025, for example, domestic retail rates plunged by 30% month-on-month, following the lead of the month’s 15.8% drop in import rates. The same was true of early January 2026 when low import rates brought down retail rates by 40% vis-á-vis November 2025.
How do cherry prices in China compare globally?
China commands between $20 to 30 per 5-pound box of cherries, based on July 2025 market data. Italy in comparison managed between €4 and 12 ($4.68-14.03) a kg at the farm gate, according to Cherry Times. Major importer, the Netherlands, also experienced low supplies that period, bringing home rates to between €6 and 7 ($7.02-8.19) a kg.
What is the annual value of cherry imports into China?
China peaked cherry imports at $2.8 billion in 2022, $2.7 billion of which from Chile, per the Index Box table below:
| Year | Export Value |
| 2023 | $2.7 billion |
| 2022 | $2.8 billion |
| 2021 | $2 billion |
| 2020 | $1.7 billion |