While Lantao, for instance, which markets avocados from Mexico, Red globe grapes from Peru or blueberries from Chile, expects it to be slow, GoodFarmer, which imports, among other things, bananas and pineapples from the Philippines and Ecuador or kiwifruit from New Zealand and Italy, hopes for better results due to a shortage of local bananas.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s NCC, devoted to apples, grapes, navels and cherries from Peru, Egypt and NZ respectively, is currently in the peak season, with the strongest demand registered two weeks before and after the CNY.
For GoodFarmer, demand is expected to be very strong and is sure to expand its volume with bananas, cherries, Red Dragon Fruit and citrus. “We are importing almost 120 to 130 trucks of bananas and pineapples weekly, around 80-90 of Red Dragon Fruit and almost 200 of cherries,” states Owen Zhang, of the Banana Business Department. For Lantao, however, demand is weak at the moment, according to founder John Wang, while for NCC, “Just 1 month before and after CNY, the volume is about 50% of that of a whole year,” affirms Head of Sales Nghia Pham.
When it comes to consumption, Zhang said that, “In China, we only do high quality import fruits and our customers are mostly middle class or higher, as lower class consumers mostly choose local fruits.” For his part, John Wang said that “normally, Chinese consumers buy Red globe grapes and apples for their CNY, but this season, with Chilean cherries and blueberries at really cheap prices, things have changed. Also, new products have been introduced into their diet, like avocados. This season, import fruits are so cheap that even low class consumers are purchasing imported fruits.”
For example, blueberries are sold for 30 yuan per box (12 x 125g), which is just around US$ 4.5, and some Chilean cherries are sold for just 80 yuan per 5 kg box, which is only around US$ 12.73.
In any case, consumers in China, according to Zhang, have seen their purchasing power increased, and therefore demand higher quality fruit. The representatives from Lantao and NCC agree that, at this time of the year, consumers seek premium quality, which is also meant to serve the gift-giving market.
Despite this, different products face different situations. While the situation for bananas is marked by shortages, “there is strong demand for Dragon Fruit because of the lower price; meanwhile, however, the situation is not as good for cherries this year, with lower levels of demand,” explains Zhang. Mr Wang and Mr Pham both agree that supply, overall, is on the rise, while demand is strong or weak depending on the product. In general terms, Mr Pham affirms that, “prices have jumped up 10 to 20% gradually near the CNY,” although Mr Wang states that prices will gradually drop.
As for the future, Mr Zhang states he is, “a little pessimistic about our further economic development, as we cannot keep this quick economic growth rate, and deflation time will come, but I think our Government can adjust and control very well, so we will have more policies to stimulate consumption.”
Nghia Pham
The NC Group, Ltd
Tel: (848) 38239060
p.nghia@thisisncc.com
www.thisisncc.com
Owen Zhang
Goodfarmer Foods (Shanghai) Co.,Ltd
Tel：+86 -21-59804175
Email: owen@goodfarmer.com
www.goodfarmer.com
John Wang
Lantao
Tel: +86 21 64346071
john.wang@lantaofruits.com
www.greatfruitharvest.com
Author: Juan Zea Estelle / Yzza Ibrahim