Core Insights - The apple harvest in Pingliang City, Gansu Province, is thriving, contributing significantly to rural revitalization and extending market supply periods with a focus on quality and variety [1][2][3] Group 1: Production and Yield - Pingliang City is located in a prime apple-growing region, benefiting from ample sunlight, significant temperature variations, and deep soil, resulting in high-quality apples [1] - Various counties in Pingliang have adjusted their apple varieties to create a staggered supply system, enhancing market competitiveness [2] - The average yield in the mature fruit period has exceeded 4,000 pounds per acre in certain areas, with specific counties projecting significant economic returns from their apple production [2] Group 2: Market Dynamics - The price of early-ripening apples has increased by 15% compared to the previous year, indicating strong market demand, particularly from buyers in Beijing [3] - Pingliang apples have gained recognition, with "Jingning apples" achieving a brand value of 18.086 billion yuan and receiving multiple national awards [3] Group 3: Technological and Management Innovations - The implementation of precise management techniques, including pest control and sugar enhancement, has been crucial for the successful apple harvest [2] - A modern development model has been established, focusing on technical guidance and collaboration between production and sales [2] Group 4: Brand Development - Pingliang is adopting a comprehensive approach to enhance the apple industry's quality and brand recognition, aiming for high-quality development across the entire supply chain [3]

Report Industry Investment Rating - Apple: Neutral [3] - Red dates: Neutral [8] Core Views - Apple: The price of apple futures rose yesterday with active trading in the early-ripening Fuji market. As late-ripening Fuji is approaching harvest, attention should be paid to its quality. The sales of high-quality stored apples have slightly improved with stable and firm prices, and the demand for festival stocking in the sales areas is emerging. The overall de-stocking speed of stored apples is still average, and the short-term market is expected to run stably [1][2][3] - Red dates: The price of red date futures rose yesterday. There is a strong expectation of a reduction in the new-season jujube production, but the reduction amplitude may be small compared to previous years. The demand for festival stocking is gradually being released, but the overall trading volume is average. The inventory of red dates is much higher than that of the same period last year. The prices of red date futures and spot goods are in a high-level oscillation state after the increase. Attention should be paid to the impact of rainfall in the main production areas on the quality of new-season jujube fruits and the demand for Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day stocking [4][7][8] Market News and Important Data Apple - Futures: The closing price of the apple 2601 contract yesterday was 8,252 yuan/ton, up 122 yuan/ton or 1.50% from the previous day [1] - Spot: The price of 80 first and second-grade late Fuji in Shandong Qixia was 3.80 yuan/jin, unchanged from the previous day; the price of over 70 semi-commodity late Fuji in Shaanxi Luochuan was 4.80 yuan/jin, unchanged from the previous day [1] Red dates - Futures: The closing price of the red date 2601 contract yesterday was 11,225 yuan/ton, up 190 yuan/ton or 1.72% from the previous day [4] - Spot: The price of first-grade grey dates in Hebei was 9.50 yuan/kg, unchanged from the previous day [4] Market Analysis Apple - Yesterday, the apple futures price closed higher. The early-ripening Fuji market had active transactions. As late-ripening Fuji is approaching harvest, attention should be paid to its quality. The sales of high-quality stored apples have slightly improved with stable and firm prices, and the demand for festival stocking in the sales areas is emerging. Last week, there were prominent quality problems with early-ripening Gala in the western region, such as poor coloring and small fruit size. The prices of high-quality goods were significantly higher than those of the same period last year, and the profit of some merchants purchasing high-quality Gala was low. The cold storage inventory in the Shandong production area was mainly for the rigid demand replenishment of merchants, and the price of the stored goods continued to decline. The early-ripening varieties in the Shandong production area, such as Luli, Jindu Red, Huashuo, and Meiba, were gradually listed for trading, with a small overall volume, and the prices followed the expected pattern of high opening and low closing. The remaining inventory of apples in the Shaanxi production area was limited and gradually entered the later stage. Affected by the quality of early-ripening apples, merchants turned to the stored goods in the warehouse, and the price of high-quality stored goods increased. In the sales area market, the wholesale price was stable with obvious polarization. After the early-ripening apples were listed, the number of trucks arriving at the market increased slightly compared with the previous off-season, still mainly Fuji apples, with an increase in early-ripening Gala. The sales of early-ripening apples were okay, but the profit of merchants was average, the terminal sales speed was not fast, the digestion speed of high-quality goods was okay, and the digestion of poor-quality goods was slow [1][2] Red dates - The price of red date futures rose yesterday. There is a strong expectation of a reduction in the new-season jujube production, but the reduction amplitude may be small compared to previous years. The demand for festival stocking is gradually being released, but the overall trading volume is average. The inventory of red dates is much higher than that of the same period last year. In the 2024 production season, the production of red dates was large with high inventory but poor quality. The de-stocking slope of the inventory of 36 sample points was gentler compared to recent years. There is an over - exhaustion problem with the new-season jujube trees, and the estimated new-season production is 56 - 62 tons, with a strong expectation of a reduction. After entering the sugar - increasing period, the growth situation has not shown unexpected changes. The spot price in the sales area market is firm, but the trading volume has decreased, and the demand shows signs of weakness with light trading. Therefore, the prices of red date futures and spot goods are in a high - level oscillation state after the increase. Attention should be paid to the impact of rainfall in the main production areas on the quality of new - season jujube fruits. If the subsequent dynamic production assessment is lower than the current expectation, the upward trend of red dates may continue. At the same time, attention should be paid to the demand for Mid - Autumn Festival and National Day stocking [4][7] Strategies - Apple: Maintain a neutral stance. Although the sales of stored apples have improved, the overall de - stocking speed is still average. The short - term market is expected to run stably [3] - Red dates: Maintain a neutral stance. Without disproving the reduction in production, the futures market may still rise in the short term due to capital sentiment. However, due to the continuously high inventory of old dates, attention should be paid to the final production of new dates. If the reduction amplitude is less than expected, the red date price may return to a weak state under the pressure of high inventory [8]

Report Summary 1. Report Industry Investment Rating The report does not mention the industry investment rating. 2. Core Viewpoints - The price of apples is expected to be slightly stronger in the short - term due to low high - quality fruit rate of early - maturing apples and potential impact of rainfall on the high - quality fruit rate of late - maturing Fuji [16]. - The new - season Fuji apples may have a high price at the initial listing stage as the new - season apple output is expected to change little from this season, and the early - maturing apples have a low high - quality fruit rate [16]. 3. Summary by Directory 3.1 Spot Analysis - The ground trading of early - maturing Gala apples has basically ended this week, with a small amount of cold - storage goods still being shipped out. Early - maturing Fuji apples are waiting to color. Due to continuous rainfall in Shaanxi, the quantity of red apples is difficult to increase, and the trading is sporadic. The impact of early - maturing fruits on Shandong's inventory goods has weakened, and the sales have improved slightly. The prices in Shandong are mainly stable, with the prices of good goods in some townships slightly increasing. The Cream Red General apples in Shandong are on the market. The sales in the distribution markets are a bit slow, and the market prefers high - redness high - quality goods [6]. - The main producing areas' prices: In Shandong Qixia, the prices of 80 first - and second - grade slice - red apples are 3.30 - 4.20 yuan/jin, 80 first - and second - grade striped apples are 3.50 - 4.50 yuan/jin, general goods are 2.80 - 3.30 yuan/jin, and third - grade apples are 2.00 - 2.50 yuan/jin. For early - maturing varieties, the trading of Gala is basically over, and the Cream Red General is the main trading variety. In Shaanxi Yan'an Luochuan, the mainstream price of early - maturing Fuji above 70 is 4.0 - 4.5 yuan/jin, and good goods are 4.7 - 4.8 yuan/jin. In Shaanxi Baishui, the mainstream reference price of general goods starting from 70 is 3.5 - 3.8 yuan/jin, and good goods are 4.1 - 4.3 yuan/jin [6]. 3.2 Supply Analysis - As of September 4, 2025, the national cold - storage inventory ratio is about 2.32%, down 0.36 percentage points this period, and 1.666 percentage points lower than the same period last year, with a destocking rate of 96.36%. In Shandong, the cold - storage capacity ratio is 4.28%, down 0.51 percentage points, and the cold - storage shipment volume is slightly higher than last week. In Shaanxi, the cold - storage capacity ratio is 1.85%, down 0.31 percentage points, and the cold - storage is gradually clearing inventory [11]. - As of September 3, 2025, the apple cold - storage inventory in the national main producing areas is 27.35 tons, a decrease of 6.62 tons from last week, and the inventory shipment speed has accelerated slightly [11]. 3.3 Demand Analysis - In the Guangdong Chalong market, the number of morning arrival vehicles has increased slightly compared with last week. The market still mainly deals with Fuji apples, and the early - maturing varieties account for a small proportion. The early - maturing apples are selling well, but the profit of merchants is average, and the terminal sales speed is not fast [14]. - On September 4, the average wholesale price of 6 key - monitored fruits is 6.89 yuan/kg, slightly lower than last Friday, and it is at the median level in recent years [14]. - In the 2024 - 2025 production season, the profit of Qixia 80 first - and second - grade storage merchants is 0.4 yuan/jin, the same as last week [14]. 3.4 Trading Strategy - Unilateral: It is recommended to build long positions at low prices and conduct rolling operations of buying low and selling high due to the possible low high - quality fruit rate of new - season apples [16]. - Arbitrage: It is recommended to wait and see [16]. - Options: It is recommended to wait and see [15].

Core Viewpoint - Apple futures prices have significantly increased this week, with the main contract rising from 8141 yuan/ton to 8388 yuan/ton, an increase of 247 yuan/ton, driven by poor quality of early-ripening apples and low inventory levels [1] Group 1: Price Trends - The opening price of early-ripening apples, such as Chen Yang, Qin Yang, and Gala, is generally higher than the same period last year, with paper-bag Gala prices increasing by 0.3 to 1 yuan/pound year-on-year [1] - Current old apple inventory is at a historical low, creating a tight supply-demand balance that supports apple prices [1] - As of August 28, the national cold storage inventory of apples is 353,500 tons, a decrease of 50,700 tons month-on-month and a year-on-year decrease of 299,600 tons [1] Group 2: Market Analysis - There is a divergence in market expectations regarding new season apple production, with estimates ranging from a decrease of 759,300 tons to an increase of 859,300 tons year-on-year [2] - The current apple market fundamentals are relatively stable, with no significant weather-related issues expected to affect fruit size [2] - The apple futures market is primarily focused on new season production and quality expectations, with short-term attention on early-ripening apples and weather impacts on late-ripening Fuji apples [2] Group 3: Future Outlook - There is a possibility of price correction as the actual harvest approaches, depending on weather conditions affecting apple quality [3] - If the weather is favorable during the harvest period, apple quality may improve; however, adverse weather could lead to further price increases [3] - While apple futures prices are expected to remain strong before the new crop is widely available, medium to long-term pressures may arise if late-ripening apples grow well [3]

Group 1 - The domestic futures market for agricultural products showed a mostly positive trend, with apple futures experiencing a price increase of approximately 1.91%, reaching a high of 8192.00 yuan/ton [1] - The main contract for apples opened at 8100.00 yuan/ton and fluctuated between a low of 8062.00 yuan and a high of 8192.00 yuan, indicating a strong performance in the market [1] - Southwest Futures noted that the main contract represents the new season's purchase price, with a slight increase in national production, contradicting previous reduction expectations [1] Group 2 - Guotai Junan Futures highlighted that the supply of early-ripening apples has decreased in recent years, leading to a significant price differentiation in the market, with high-quality apples commanding higher prices [2] - The new season's apple bagging quantity is slightly lower than the previous season, and the purchase prices for early-ripening apples in the northwest region are higher than last year, providing some support for late-ripening varieties [2] - The market is advised to consider buying on dips in the short term, focusing on the performance of the new season's apple production [2]