The Xinhua-Fengjie Navel Orange Price Index was released on Sunday in Fengjie County, southwest China’s Chongqing municipality.

The price index was compiled jointly by the Information Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the China Economic Information Service (CEIS) of Xinhua News Agency, and the People’s Government of Fengjie County.

It aims to reflect changes in the supply and demand of navel oranges in Fengjie, quantify the level of navel orange industrial development, unblock market circulation channels, and provide weather vanes for planting planning, policy guidance, and trade decisions.

The Xinhua-Fengjie Navel Orange Price Index has recently shown a downtrend. Due to concentrated supplies of the citrus throughout the country, the national wholesale price of navel oranges has fallen by 8.67 percent in the past month. The price index is expected to continue its downward trend in the short term.

The price index will provide a “wind vane” for industrial development, build a “barometer” for market prices, and create a “speaker” for brand value, according to Wu Xuejun, president assistant of CEIS.

“The navel orange price index will help achieve standardization and digitization of the navel orange production, packaging, and transportation industry chain,” said Cai Ping, deputy director of the Information Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Fengjie County is a famous citrus producing area in the country. In 2019, the county’s navel orange plantation area is 354,800 mu (15 mu equal one hectare), with an annual output of 330,000 metric tons (tonnes).

It is learned that in recent years, Fengjie County has taken measures to enhance quality of the navel orange industry. The brand value of Fengjie navel orange has reached 18.28 billion yuan.