China: Development of kiwifruit industry still long way to go

China is the home of the kiwifruit and its annual production accounts for more than 50% of the global output. The distribution of the plantation range is very wide but is mainly concentrated in four major areas: Shanxi province, Sichuan province, Henan province and Guizhou province. The total annual output of these four regions accounts for more than 90% of the annual output of the country.

In recent years, with the improvement of living standards and a growing taste for high-quality fruit, the kiwi is becoming more and more popular in the domestic and foreign markets. In the past ten years, the output of Kiwifruit in China has been increasing rapidly, according to the relevant statistics. The total output of kiwi has increased by more than 150% over the last six years.

However, due to environmental and climatatic changes, the quality of the domestic product is not comparable to that of imported fruit. Therefore, the increased production in China can only meet the low-end demand from the domestic market. The high-end market is still dependent on imported Kiwis. At present, China's main overseas suppliers are New Zealand, Chile and Italy.

There is an imbalance between supply and demand throughout the kiwifruit industry in China. While consumers have seen prices rise, after years of market development and promotion, the demand has also increased significantly. Regarding the supply, although the kiwi industry has an absolute advantage in terms of production, the degree of commercialization is still low, cannot fundamentally meet the needs of consumers.