China is the world’s main exporter of red dates and Xinjiang is its main producing area. However, in recent years, this fruit has encountered bottlenecks in the market. “In the past few years, demand for Xinjiang red dates has increased slightly, but still lower than the production. For example, the total production in China this year is about 5 million tons, in which only 3.5 million are expected to be consumed. With the increase in the number of production regions, the price of Xinjiang red dates has declined sharply year on year, and fell to the lowest point in history in 2019,” said Mr. Li of Xinjiang Yeheyuan Fruits. “Although the red date sector in Xinjiang has gone through a long path of development, this product is still regarded as a bulk subsidiary agricultural product at best. As the threshold for the sector is extremely low, competition is very fierce.”
“The total production of red dates in Xinjiang this year is about 2.8 million tons, with the average selling price of around 20 yuan/kg, lower than that of previous years,” said Mr. Li. “In Xinjiang, the main producing region, the harvest time varies with geographical location. The Aksu and Aral regions start first, followed by Makati, Zepu, and Ruoqiang, and finally Kashgar. Purchase prices of different producing regions also differ, with the produce from the Aksu region being the cheapest, and that from Ruoqiang the most expensive. The purchase price goes up and down each year.”
Xinjiang Yeheyuan Fruits is located in the Kashgar region of Xinjiang. Since 2015, they have been specialized in growing red dates, and mainly grow dates of Xinjiang Red variety on 400,000 mu. “We have an annual processing capacity of about 50,000 tons, a storage capacity of 23,000 tons, and five transit warehouses in the eastern coastal and central parts of China. We have multiple sales channels, such as supermarkets, chains, e-commerce, and wholesale markets,” said Mr. Li. “As consumers now demand higher quality foods, we have also established a traceability system to monitor and manage the whole process from growing to purchase for our 140,000 mu of orchids. With this, we can ensure the quality of our products,” shared Li. “The products we supply to the market are cleaned, graded, and packaged by our own production and processing center in Xinjiang, and then distributed to various markets across the country for retail. We implement strict quality control measures throughout the process, and don’t use no additives during processing."
The most common variety supplied to the local markets is Xinjiang Red. "Because of the fierce competition in the local markets, the price has constantly been driven lower, so on top of selling our products to local markets, we are also actively expanding our export channels and outlets. Xinjiang Red dates can be exported to many countries, and we also have the qualifications required for exporting to various countries in place. We welcome clients to visit us and to discuss cooperation opportunities,” said Mr. Li.
More info:
Contact: Li Jianguang
Xinjiang Yeheyuan Fruits Co., Ltd.
Tel.: +86 13810098584