China’s 2024 Fruit Import and Export Statistics Released

On March 7, the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products released a report outlining China’s fruit import and export trade for 2024.

Imports

In 2024, China imported fruits and fruit products worth $19.425 billion, marking a 5.81% year-on-year increase. Of this, fruit imports alone totaled $17.746 billion, up 5.25% from 2023. Meanwhile, the total import volume of fruits and fruit products reached 8.6798 million metric tons, a 3.35% year-on-year increase, with fruits accounting for 7.6871 million metric tons, a growth of 2.17%.

The top 10 fruit exporters to China in 2024 by import value were Thailand, Chile, Vietnam, New Zealand, the Philippines, Peru, Indonesia, Cambodia, Australia and Malaysia. Collectively, these countries accounted for 92.15% of China’s total fruit import value. Thailand remained the largest supplier of fruits and fruit products to China with an import value of $6.529 billion, although this represented a year-on-year decrease of 10.54%. In December alone, imports from Thailand reached $333 million, marking a year-on-year increase of 24.19%.

The top-performing fruit categories in descending order of import value were durians, cherries, bananas, mangosteens and kiwifruit. Together, these five categories accounted for 72.2% of China’s total fruit imports in terms of value. By import volume, the leading categories were bananas, durians, coconuts, cherries and longans, which together represented 64.9% of the total fruit import volume.

Durians

Durians ranked first in import value in 2024, reaching $6.994 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4.1%, with an import volume of 1.560 million metric tons, up 9.4% year on year. Thailand exported 929,000 metric tons or $4.569 billion worth of durians to China, while Vietnam exported 493,100 metric tons, valued at $2.138 billion.

Cherries

Cherries ranked second in import value, reaching $3.694 billion in 2024, reflecting a substantial year-on-year increase of 39.4%. The import volume totaled 451,000 metric tons, up 23.0% year on year. Imports from Chile alone reached $3.544 billion and 439,000 metric tons, year-on-year increases of 39.0% and 31.4%, respectively.

Bananas

Banana imports in 2024 reached $907 million and 1.687 million metric tons, year-on-year decreases of 16.0% and 4.6%, respectively. The primary sources of imported bananas were the Philippines, Vietnam and Ecuador, which collectively accounted for 79.2% of the total volume.

Mangosteens

Mangosteen imports in 2024 totaled $665 million, representing a year-on-year decline of 8.9%. However, the import volume rose to 275,100 metric tons, a year-on-year increase of 13.7%.

Exports

In 2024, China’s total exports of fruits and fruit products reached $8.561 billion, marking a year-on-year increase of 20.88%. Of this, fruit exports alone accounted for $5.987 billion, reflecting a notable year-on-year growth of 20.16%. The total export volume of fruits and fruit products reached 6.5925 million metric tons, up 31.08% year on year, with fruits alone contributing 5.0612 million metric tons, a substantial year-on-year increase of 30.86%.

In 2024, the top 10 overseas markets for Chinese fruits and fruit products in terms of export value were Vietnam, the United States, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Hong Kong (China), Malaysia and the Philippines. These markets collectively accounted for 74.74% of the total export value. Vietnam was the top destination, with exports to the country totaling $1.455 billion, a year-on-year increase of 15.41%. In December alone, exports to Vietnam reached $128 million, up 7.78% year on year.

The top five fruit categories by export value were apples, table grapes, other citrus fruits*, pears and oranges, collectively accounting for 60.7% of the total fruit export value. By export volume, the leading categories were apples, other citrus fruits, pears, table grapes and grapefruit (including pomelos), together comprising 65.37% of the total fruit export volume.

*Editor’s note: “Other citrus fruits” corresponds to the description used by China Customs in its harmonized system for import and export commodities. It refers to HS code 08052190, which includes mandarin oranges and satsuma oranges and is used for citrus items not covered by HS codes 08051000 (oranges), 08052900 (clementines and similar hybrids), 08054000 (fresh grapefruit and pomelos) or 08055000 (lemons and limes).

Image: Pixabay

This article was translated from Chinese. Read the original article.