Over recent years, China's apple industry has been developing rapidly and the overall supply and demand have remained balanced. The next few years will be a key period for the transformation of the industry. Affected by many macroeconomic factors internationally and locally, the market often experiences unexpected slow sales. There are 5 main reasons for the current slow sales:
1. Although apple purchase prices are low throughout China, labor costs, wholesale market shelf fees, and transportation costs are high, leading to an increase in the overall cost of this fruit.
2, the quality has been declining, and the proportion of high-quality fruit has reduced by about 20%. More russet and bigger bitter bits are seen in mid-grade apples which currently make up the largest sales volume, and their surface is less smooth and a large proportion of the fruit is wrinkly due to loss of water, which affect sales.
3. Currently, there is a myriad of locally produced and imported fruit available in the markets throughout China, and the volume is huge.
4. Apple exports have been affected by rising prices, and export to India has not yet started. Also in view of the unreasonable expenses of exporting to Indonesian, China’s apple export performance has not been satisfactory.
5. With industry upgrades and urban management in large and medium-sized cities, many migrant workers have returned home, and apple sales of fruit sellers have been sluggish.
According to industry insiders, apples are still mainly consumed fresh, while the volume of deep-processed products such as juice is still not yet significant. They suggest companies within the industry to consider developing various forms of deep-processed products so that Fuji and other varieties can be consumed in more forms.
Source: Fruit Service Center