“We’re looking for Polish and French apples and Dutch Conference pears”

This week Henry Wang, of Fujian Oumeng Import and Export Trade Co., Ltd., will be visiting a number of apple orchards and juice factories in Poland. The company focusses on the import of fresh fruit from Europe. He will also attend meetings with Grupa SadExport and Polish Fruit Union. Polish apple varieties that are most popular in China are the Royal Gala, Jonagold, Red Jonaprince and Najda Red. In China these apples are called European bi-colored apples.

“We choose to import apples from Poland because the quality is high, local production is large and prices are competitive. Currently Polish apples are not allowed to export on the Chinese market, but I am confident that this will change within the coming six months. In total we will taste and test 13 varieties”.

The company will also start with the import of Royal Gala apples from France and Conference pears from the Netherlands. French apples are famous for their quality in China. Export of apples from France to China is estimated around 500 containers a year. Currently, New Zealand is the biggest exporter of Gala apples to China. Mr Wang estimates that New Zealand Mr Apple exports around 700 containers of Royal Gala apples to China each year. 

 

The Chinese consumer market is changing and living standards in big cities and at the East Coast are developing. A growing group of consumers has the financial means and the interest to buy imported fruits. These are the customers Fujian Oumeng Import and Export Trade is targeting. 

“We have direct access to supermarkets in Shanghai, Fujian and Shenzhen, including Walmart, Yonghui and New Huadu. So we can directly reach Chinese end-consumers. In addition, we sell to big distributors. For example, in Guangzhou, we work with a distributor that every day circulates around 500 containers of fresh produce. Every day they process 50 to a 100 containers of apples”. 

“Prices of domestic apples in China were very high last year, around 10 to 12 Yuan for half a kg. Currently Gala apples from Mr Apple are sold for 8 to 9 Yuan per half a kg. This is the price we want to meet with our import apples”. 

“We have invested in building up a marketing network. We also conduct frequent supermarket investigations. Shenzen is a big city, there are many local buyers. Some people are a fan of Dutch Conference pears. We know of people that travel to Hong Kong to buy Conference pears. This is the demand we can meet with our imported apples and pears. We want to have our new import ready before the Chinese New Year. People are willing to spend more money to buy high quality goods”.