Recently released data from the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products indicate that China’s fruit imports and exports both registered substantial year-on-year (YOY) growth in the first half of 2021. According to the newly published statistics, between January and June China imported 3.71 million tons of fruit worth $7.69 billion, corresponding to YOY increases of 2% and 21%, respectively. Meanwhile, China’s fruit exports in the first six months of 2021 stood at a volume of 1.43 million tons and a value of $2.29 billion, corresponding to YOY increases of 5.9% and 15.4%, respectively. It is worth noting that China’s fruit imports hit a record-high $10.26 billion in 2020 [3], exceeding $10 billion for the first time in history. Considering that this year’s fruit imports by the end of June had already reached 75% of last year’s total import value, it is highly likely that 2021 will set a new record.

Imports

The five top-performing fruits in order of decreasing import value were fresh durians [4], cherries, bananas, table grapes and longans, which together accounted for 72% of the total import value. Durians retained the top spot with a volume of 476,000 tons and a value of $2.3 billion, representing significant YOY increases of 24% and 60%, respectively. Fresh cherries came in second with imports reaching 295,000 tons (+74% YOY) and $1.78 billion (+44% YOY); 98.6% of these imported cherries originated from Chile, corresponding to a YOY increase of 76.7% in terms of volume.

In third place, banana imports in the first six months of 2021 totaled 1.01 million tons (+6.8% YOY) and $560 million (+8% YOY), reversing the decreases witnessed last year. The Philippines remained the largest supplier of bananas to China with a market share of 39%, followed by Vietnam, Cambodia and Ecuador, which accounted for 27%, 20% and 11%, respectively, of China’s imported banana market.

Despite taking fourth place, imports of fresh table grapes decreased to 190,000 tons (−21.3% YOY) and $510 million (−15.9% YOY). With a market share of 41%, Chile [5] remained China’s top table grape supplier. Other major suppliers included Australia [6], Peru [7] and South Africa, which accounted for 27%, 24% and 5% of the market, respectively.

For longans, the import volume and value both displayed impressive jumps to 211,000 tons (+41.8% YOY) and $320 million (+59% YOY), respectively.

The top 11 fruit exporters to China in the first half of 2021 ranked in order of decreasing export value were Thailand ($3.24 billion, +43.7% YOY), Chile [8] ($2.18 billion, +22.6% YOY), Vietnam ($520 million, −10.9% YOY), the Philippines ($310 million, +2.7% YOY), New Zealand ($250 million, +24.4% YOY), Australia ($210 million, −8.8% YOY), Peru ($190 million, +18.1% YOY), Cambodia ($120 million, +107.0% YOY), Egypt ($87 million, −15.5% YOY), the United States ($84 million, +3.7% YOY) and Indonesia ($83 million, −23.1% YOY).

Exports

China’s top exported fruit categories in the first half of 2021 remained similar to previous years. In order of decreasing value, these were citrus (including mandarins and satsuma oranges; 405,000 tons, +47% YOY or $670 million, +52% YOY), fresh apples [9] (443,000 tons, +11% YOY or $620 million, +22% YOY), fresh pears (212,000 tons, −22% YOY or $270 million, −8% YOY), oranges (72,000 tons, +107% YOY or $130 million, +99.7% YOY) and fresh table grapes (39,000 tons, +1.9% YOY or $1 million, +9.5% YOY).

Southeast Asian markets still accounted for the majority of China’s fruit exports. The top seven destinations for China’s fruit exports ranked in order of decreasing value were Vietnam ($650 million, +18.2% YOY), Thailand ($300 million, +36.4% YOY), Indonesia ($220 million, +29.4% YOY), the Philippines ($210 million, +16.7% YOY), Hong Kong ($160 million, +23.1% YOY), Malaysia ($130 million, +0% YOY) and Myanmar ($100 million, −9.1% YOY).

Image: Pixabay

This article was translated from Chinese. Read the original article [10].