China’s Fruit Imports in 2020 Q1 Driven by High-Value Products

Recently released data from the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products indicate that in the first quarter of 2020 China imported over 1.61 million tons of fruit with a total value of $3.01 billion, corresponding to a 12% decrease in volume and a 7% increase in value compared with the same period of last year. Meanwhile, China’s fruit exports over the same period totaled approximately 800,000 tons and $1.15 billion, representing year-on-year (YOY) increases of 9% and 15%, respectively.

The strong performance of high-value fruits such as cherries and durians was the main reason for the increased import value in spite of the 12% decrease in import volume. The top nine fruit categories by import value in the first three months of 2020 were fresh cherries ($1.19 billion, +34% YOY), fresh grapes ($240 million, −13% YOY), bananas ($230 million, −15% YOY), fresh durians ($220 million, +7% YOY), fresh longans ($170 million, −8% YOY), fresh dragon fruit ($165 million, +77% YOY), fresh plums ($100 million, −27% YOY), fresh cranberries and blueberries ($90 million, +17% YOY), and fresh peaches and nectarines ($800 million, +30% YOY). It is also worth noting that China’s kiwifruit imports during the first quarter of 2020 totaled 7,369 tons (+51% YOY), with approximately 79% of the total volume (5,853 tons, +44% YOY) originating from Italy.

Ranked in descending order of value, the top ten exporters of fruit to mainland China between January and March were Chile, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Peru, Australia, Indonesia, Ecuador, Taiwan and Egypt.

The top-performing fruit export categories by value were other citrus (including satsuma mandarins; $374 million, +17% YOY), fresh apples ($312 million, +21% YOY), fresh pears ($176 million, +71%), fresh grapes ($53 million, −14% YOY), lemons and limes ($44 million, +11% YOY) and oranges ($26 million, −35% YOY). With the exception of grapes and oranges, all of these exhibited YOY growth in export value in excess of 10%.

Ranked in descending order of value, the top ten overseas markets for China in the first quarter of 2020 were Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Russia and Japan.

Image: Pixabay

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