In January, interest in the litchi gradually faded, with consumers switching their purchase preferences to other more traditional products. However in the first half of the month, the big reduction in shipments from Madagascar helped maintain sale prices. Export markets rapidly closed, leaving the bulk of Madagascan litchi shipments on the French market. Some supermarket chains continued to offer the product on their shelves, though space was increasingly tight. In the second half-month, containerised sea-freight litchis exhibited more fragile quality, highlighting the fall in prices. Meanwhile, the South African campaign too continued with more fragile produce, with some batches requiring sorting. Rates gradually dipped, though they remained higher than for Madagascan litchis due to greater freshness and better sizing. By late January, the litchi marketing campaign could be considered over. Only South Africa was still supplying the market, with declining volumes.
The air-freight litchi market continued in January with the last batches from Reunion shipped in small quantities. In spite of greater qualitative fragility, their sale prices remained particularly high, which contributed to lack of consumer interest. Furthermore, South Africa was shipping on-stem litchis, which sold fairly steadily in the first half of the month. Yet the switch at the beginning of the year from the Mauritius variety to the less popular Red McLean variety led to a continuous fall in prices and greater difficulty in selling.
In early February the Madagascan campaign was winding down. The last batches received in late January had a market footing of 1.70 euro/kg, given lack of customer interest and the often fragile quality of the fruit.
Meanwhile, the South African campaign continued throughout the month with slowed sales. Prices stabilised at between 1.75 and 2.50 euros/kg depending on the fruit size and quality. The qualitative deterioration and switch to the Red McLean variety made for a sluggish end to the campaign, in spite of the Chinese New Year celebrations (16 February), which temporarily revitalised sales. However, enthusiasm for this product waned at the time of this event compared to previous years, when the supermarkets offered litchi promotions on their shelves.
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