Red flesh kiwifruit is fleshy, sweet, and juicy with a smooth surface, greenish flesh, and thin skin, and is packed with nutrition. “With the increasing purchasing power of Chinese consumers and their deepening awareness of healthy eating, mid-to-high-end fruits have become increasingly popular. As one of such fruits, sales volumes of red flesh kiwifruit have significantly increased,” said Mr. Duan of Liangdu Minihong.
“Product prices each year in the local markets change in line with supply and demand. We expect this year’s sales volumes to be around 8,000 tons and the average market price at 18 yuan/kg. In general, the price of red flesh kiwifruit is shooting up year by year. Our sales network centers around the first and second-tier cities, and covers all parts of China. We also have a variety of sales channels, such as fruit and vegetable wholesale markets, fruit retail chains, large supermarket chains, specialized e-commerce platforms, and group purchase and other sales models. In addition to the local markets, we have been exporting our products for three consecutive years to markets like Russia, Canada, and Taiwan, and plan to increase our exports this year to around 500 tons,” said the manager. “Red flesh kiwifruit is a medium-to-high-end fruit that is very soft, so our packaging is carefully designed. Whether it is destined for local markets or export, the fruit is packed in a carefully designed box, differing with the size and weight of the fruit."
“Although the sales volumes and prices are increasing each year, competition within the sector is fierce. Whether a company can stand out in the market is mainly determined by factors such as its scale, quality, pricing and brand influence,” said Mr. Duan. “In order to ensure high quality and good taste, we use a ’unified standard’ throughout our handling. We use water and fertilizer integrated irrigation technology exclusively in our growing stage, and adopt environmentally friendly production methods such as organic fertilizer, physical insecticide, and manual weeding. The whole process is monitored and tracked through a traceability system. For cold chain packaging, we have the largest specialized cold storage with the capacity of over 10,000 tons in the southwest region, where we use international advanced cooling and fresh storage technology and facilities imported from New Zealand to ensure the quality of fruit."
“As for logistics, as red flesh kiwifruit is difficult to store and transport, we carry out the whole process in the cold chain, where the temperature is controlled at 2-6 degrees. In the marketing stage, we have unified standards for products allowed to leave storage and for market monitoring, to ensure that low-quality fruit will not go into the market," said the manager. In particular, it is worth mentioning that Minihong started to use facilities imported from New Zealand three years ago, which select 200 tons of fruit each day by taking photos of the appearance, sorting, weighing, and analyzing dry matter and sugar. "The use of such automated facilities has enabled the company to greatly reduce labor costs, improve the efficiency of sorting and packaging, and better ensure product quality.
As a brand for red flesh kiwifruit produced in Liupanshui City, Liangdu Minihong was launched in 2016, with the aim to use a “unified brand” to present and promote the red flesh kiwifruit from this city. So far, the acreage of this city has grown to 207,000 mu. The company itself has more than 50,000 mu of orchids and also sells fruit produced from more than 30,000 mu of private orchids in the city.
More info:
Duan Zhaohua
Agricultural Investment Development of Liupanshui City
Tel.: +86 18216808829