The Shanghai Imported Fruit Market received a rare surprise recently when local cherries from Liaoning and Shandong appeared at an unusual time of year, selling at CNY160-200 (US$25.55-31.94) per kilogram. To hear more, we spoke with Wu Fajun from Shanghai Botao Xinyu Fruits Co.

"They avoided the peak period when all other cherries hit the shelves," Wu said.

He said the main Northern Hemisphere cherry season was yet to come, while cherries produced in Chile have had a mediocre performance due to the effects of heavy rainfall coupled with a substantially larger crop.

The trader said this new wave of Chinese cherries, although a little sour in taste, were the freshest in the market and were superior to the current Chilean offering.

The early sales are a result of greenhouse cultivation, with adjusted temperature, humidity and other conditions leading to fruit maturity in early March.

"We don't have all that many of them. Right now I've only seen about several dozen boxes. It's not a huge amount," Wu explained.

At the moment, blueberries and nectarines and other fruits are also being cultivated in greenhouses in Liaoning and Shandong.

"It's a costly model of development. Sometimes we have to set the price high enough in order to reap some profits. So right now, the scale of production remains small, and I think their popularity on the market could be a temporary phenomenon," Wu said.

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