China: 30-40% of imported fruits in the market are actually fake

With the standard of living improving in China, more and more residents prefer to buy imported fruits. And of course buyers looks at the labels on the fruit to check if the fruits are imported. The question is how do you know that the fruit is actually imported and not local?

In China, there has been news that now even imported fruits are being “pirated”. Local fruits are being sold as imported fruits, just by sticking an imported fruit label, so that they can be sold at a higher price.

Here are some examples. Apples are slapped with the "Japanese Red Fuji" label when the apples are actually domestically grown Fuji apples. Grapes labeled with "USA Red Grapes” when the grape plantation is actually in Beijing and Qinhuangdao. Kiwifruits with the "New Zealand Kiwifruit" label, when the kiwi is actually from Zhejiang.

Imported fruits are easy to fake if the fruit is originally from abroad, such as apples, lemons, grapes, kiwifruit, etc. For the average consumer it is difficult for them to identify whether the fruit is actually imported from abroad. Dealers of domestic fruits pick out the good looking local fruits, uniform size, and then slap them with English labels, and the fruits instantly become “imported”. Reports indicate that 30-40% of imported fruits in the market are actually fake.

So how does the average consumer distinguish the real imported fruits? China has strict restrictions on imported fruits and licenses must be obtained. The country of import must pack the fruit in boxes, which must include country of origin, orchard name, factory number and other information in English.

However, when it comes to the labels on the fruit, there is no clear policy. Most buyers just look at the labels on the fruit and do not see the box. And unfortunately unscrupulous sellers take advantage of this. So experts point out that if you are unsure, you can ask for the original packing or box from where the fruit came from.