Sold for 70 to 80 yuan per jin, this popular item that Shanghai residents are eager for has just hit the market! This year, a production reduction is expected...

Recently, media outlets have noticed that

the first batch of lychees to be released on the market

is becoming one of the representatives

of expensive fruit on e-commerce platforms

With a short selling window and not high production,

the price of lychees per catty on e-commerce platforms

often exceeds 60 yuan

Some lychees have even been sold

at a high price close to 100 yuan per catty

A reporter checked on e-commerce platforms such as Taobao and Pinduoduo and found that, entering April, the first flush Guihua-fragrant lychees are being rolled out one after another. Many consumers are willing to pay premium prices to try the fruit.

• According to data shown on Pinduoduo pages, the price of one catty of Hainan Guihua-fragrant lychees is 78.8 yuan, and 247 items have been purchased in a group.

• Taobao pages show that a premium Guihua-fragrant lychee set weighing 2 jin can cost up to 164 yuan, which is 82 yuan per jin, with sales already reaching 1,000+ units.

• On the Xiaohongshu platform, some sellers have posted links saying “premium goods, Gui aroma lychees sell for only 10 days.” The page information shows the in-hand price is 98.9 yuan per jin; 7 have been sold so far, and it has now been taken down.

According to agricultural product trading platform “One Acre Field Agricultural Big Data,” currently, there are already sellers offering early-ripening lychees such as Hainan Guihua-fragrant lychees, and the procurement price at the origin has already reached around 60 yuan per catty.

A reporter looked into it

and found that some online platforms in Shanghai

have also already stocked

the first-flush lychees for tasting.

Perhaps it’s because the supply chain is mature,

and when converted, most prices are around 40 yuan per catty.

Dingdong Groceries

shows the price: one serving of 300g is 25.9 yuan

It also specially notes

“only a 1-month selling period”

↓↓↓

Hema Fresh

shows the price: one box of 300g is 19.9 yuan

It is currently out of stock

↓↓↓

Elephant Fresh Market

shows the price: one serving of 250g is 16.58 yuan

one serving of 450g is 29.83 yuan

↓↓↓

The industry generally predicts

this year will be the “off year” for lychees

Lychee production has “on year” and “off year” distinctions, and in 2025, it is an “on year” for lychees. With a large supply, the “cabbage-price” 10 yuan for two jin of Feizixiao lychees in many places was sold out widely. The price of Lychee King was around 25 yuan per catty, and Guiwei lychees once fell to below 20 yuan.

And in 2026, lychees are expected to be in the “off year” stage. A researcher with the One Acre Field Industry Research Institute, Xu Lifeng, analyzed for a reporter that, based on lychee production cycles from previous years, the current rate of flower formation at the origins has dropped noticeably. This is mainly because the “great on year” production in 2025 hit a historic high, causing the trees to be depleted of nutrients, and combined with climate factors in major producing areas such as Guangdong experiencing warm winters from 2025 to 2026, which affected flower bud differentiation. It is expected that lychee varieties such as Guiwei, Nuo Mi Qi, and Feizixiao will all see some degree of reduction in output.

Xu Lifeng said that a reduction in lychee output will inevitably lead to an increase in prices; the specific extent of the price increase will depend on subsequent fruit set and other conditions.

Netizens: it’s hard to enjoy “lychee freedom” this year

Regarding the news that lychees will drop significantly in production,

some netizens said outright

“Lychee freedom will be hard this year”

Others also said

“I ate too many last year, so I’ll take a break this year”

There are also netizens who said they are

looking forward to next year’s lychees

“if they have to bend, then bend—next year, bring more”

Source | Newsroom, Qianjiang Evening News, First Finance

A massive amount of information, precise interpretation—everything on the Sina Finance app