Star Anise: Harvest Timing and How We Price It

Every dried price starts with fresh fruit, bought at the farm gate by the jin (half a kilo). In autumn 2026, old-tree fruit at Gulong in Teng County (Wuzhou) sold about 15% below its early-crop peak. Rong County and Beiliu fruit sold slightly below Gulong, and grafted fruit from Baise and Chongzuo about 20–35% below old-tree fruit.

The second factor is the drying ratio. Sulphur-free, sun-dried export fruit at no more than 12.5% moisture takes about 4.8–5.2 kg of fresh fruit per kilo, and traders cost it at 5 to 1. Domestic “eighty-per-cent dry” fruit at 15–18% moisture needs only 3.5–4 kg, and sulphur-treated fruit 2.5–3 kg. That is why a much cheaper quote often means wetter or sulphured fruit: you are paying for water, or for a residue your importer may reject.

Then come the grade (open stars, broken tips, impurities), the crop (autumn over spring), the place (same-grade Yulin fruit trades about 10–20% above Baise fruit) and washing, which adds a few per cent for washed export fruit.

Start from the same fresh fruit and change only the drying.

Sulphur-free, sun-dried to 12.5% moisture: 5 kg of fresh fruit in each dried kilo.

Domestic “eighty-per-cent dry” fruit at 15–18% moisture: 3.5–4 kg, so 20–30% less fruit in each kilo.

Sulphur-treated fruit: 2.5–3 kg, so 40–50% less fruit in each kilo.

A lot offered well below the market is usually one of the last two. You are buying water or a sulphur residue, not a bargain.

From the Yulin price to your port, an export lot adds selection to your grade, laboratory testing, export packing, transport to the port and documents. Our reference price on the product page covers bulk supply and is reconfirmed in the quotation.

Fully dried, sulphur-free Dahong rose about 20% between October 2024 and September 2025, and in September 2026 stood 20–30% above its October 2024 level.

Low farm-gate prices have consequences in the groves. Picking an old seed-grown tree costs about twice as much per jin as picking a grafted dwarf tree, because pickers climb and bring in only 100–200 jin a day, against 400–500 jin from the ground. When fresh prices are low, an old-tree grower keeps little after paying pickers, and some remote groves are left unpicked. Our team expects that two or three more years of low prices would lead many growers to replace old seed-grown trees with grafted dwarf trees, which would mean more uniform but thinner fruit on the market.

In September 2026, duty-paid Vietnamese bulk arriving at the Chinese border traded about 20–30% below Chinese bulk. Same-grade, sulphur-free Yulin autumn fruit traded about 15–20% above Lang Son fruit, and Chinese sulphur-free export Dahong is usually quoted 15–20% above comparable Vietnamese fruit FOB.

The gap pays for thicker lobes, more oil and a sweeter taste, described in our guide to spring and autumn star anise. It is also why the origin of every lot is declared from its supply records.