First Ever Shipment of South African Nectarines Reaches China by Air

On Feb. 9, the first ever shipment of South African nectarines to enter China arrived in Shanghai by air. A container-opening ceremony was held at Shanghai Huizhan Fruit and Vegetable Market, marking the official debut of South African stone fruit on the Chinese market.

Produce Report immediately contacted the importer, Topsun Fresh. Neil Wan, the company’s general manager, explained that the first shipment included one pallet each of yellow-fleshed and white-fleshed nectarines, both carefully selected premium late-season varieties. Prices exceed 200 Chinese yuan ($29) per three-kilogram carton for yellow-fleshed nectarines and 150 yuan ($22) per carton for white-fleshed ones.

The fruit from this shipment is mainly being promoted through online fruit livestreaming channels, targeting Shanghai and the broader East China market, where consumers show greater acceptance of imported fruit and market feedback can be obtained quickly.

South Africa has long been an important sourcing origin for Topsun Fresh. The company maintains strong partnerships with local growers and exporters and regularly imports South African apples, pears, citrus and table grapes. Although the current South African stone fruit export season is nearing its end, Topsun Fresh plans to continue trial imports of other high-quality varieties in preparation for the next full season.

Wan added that nectarines were chosen as the first South African stone fruit to be launched in China because of the company’s strong confidence in the product. South African nectarines are sweet and crisp, and customer feedback has been excellent.

During winter and spring, nectarines available on the Chinese market mainly come from Chile, with smaller volumes originating from Australia. The addition of South African fruit will provide consumers with more choices. Topsun Fresh has made thorough preparations for importing South African stone fruit, and the first shipment consists of carefully selected high-quality fruit featuring natural sugar spotting, with the company aiming to secure a strong start for South African stone fruit in China through product quality.

The exporter of this shipment is reported to be Delecta, a South African company established in 1997 by a consortium of local growers, with annual exports of approximately 10 million cartons of fruit. Through years of exporting apples, pears, table grapes and other fruits to China, Delecta has built a strong reputation in China. The company also has extensive experience exporting stone fruit to Europe and the Middle East and is highly optimistic about the significant potential of the Chinese market.

South Africa has approximately 16,000 hectares dedicated to stone fruit cultivation. Over the past five years, the country’s nectarine planting area has expanded by 26%, including a 24% increase in yellow-fleshed varieties. The South African stone fruit export season runs from October through March or April of the following year, aligning with China’s winter and spring seasons and helping meet off-season demand on the Chinese market. Benefiting from favorable weather conditions during winter and the flowering period, fruit set and fruit quality in most producing regions have been excellent this season.

Images: Topsun Fresh

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