Dragon fruit is quite a popular fruit in the Chinese market. In addition to domestic supply, the Chinese market also imports a large volume of dragon fruit from Vietnam every year.
This year, the Chinese government implemented strict measures for quarantine, inspection, and food safety standards, as well as the requirement that products can be traced to their original production areas. These strict standards also apply to dragon fruit from Vietnam.
Many reports show that these new measures are creating problems for Vietnamese dragon fruit farmers near the border as well as the exporters involved in the Vietnamese dragon fruit trade. However, Chen Haiqiao of Shenzhen Yuanxing Fruit Co., Ltd. (hereafter 'YumSun') explained that the strict standards do not present a problem for the company.
"We only have to be careful to operate according to these strict standards. When we produce fruit that meets the strict national standards, then our operations will not be disrupted at all. The requirement for QR-codes attached to products in the orchard does not affect our operations. The additional inspections for fruit transported by sea, however, does delay the turnover time of shipping containers, which affects the quality of our fruit. As for land transport, the port facilities are not always able to process the large volumes of fruit, which affects their speed and efficiency but the overall impact on our business is limited."
The dragon fruit market experienced some changes last year. In September, the Chinese market for Vietnamese dragon fruit was slow.
According to Chen, "The current market price is much higher than at the beginning of this month. The price increased by 30-40 yuan [4.25-5.66 USD] per box. However, as the price is rising, the retail volume drops. Vietnamese dragon fruit can be grown in the off-season with light supplementation. This is the time of year when the production season of natural dragon fruit overlaps with the production season of dragon fruit grown with light supplementation. The quality of the latter is better. In previous years, the dragon fruit market always experienced 1-2 month depression after Mid-Autumn Festival [13 September, 2019]. The current slow market is thus a seasonal development. We sell our dragon fruit under our own brand names: YumSun, Daotian, Xianguohui, Youpinxian, and Aideli."
"We mainly sell our dragon fruit through large supermarkets and cooperations in major cities throughout China. We also process customer orders. We export our dragon fruit to Thailand. The current market price is as follows: 200-210 yuan [28.31-29.72 USD] for top-quality large dragon fruit; 165-175 yuan [23.35-24.77 USD] for second-grade large dragon fruit; 140-160 yuan [19.81-22.64 USD] for third-grade large dragon fruit; 140 yuan [19.81 USD] for second-grade small dragon fruit; and 120-130 yuan [16.98-18.40 USD] for third-grade small dragon fruit. The price follows market fluctuations."
The popularity of dragon fruit varieties differs depending on region: in east China the sales volume of red dragon fruit is larger than white dragon fruit, while the white dragon fruit is generally more popular in other Chinese markets. The sales volume of domestic dragon fruit expanded in recent years. Furthermore, information in this industry grows more reliable every year. However, Vietnamese dragon fruit still exceeds domestic dragon fruit when it comes to fruit size, appearance, and flavor.
YumSun is a company specialized in plantation, harvest, processing, storage, import, export, sales, distribution, and retail. The company integrates every segment of the process from production to retail. YumSun was established in 2007 and has more than 12 years of experience in the dragon fruit industry. Their annual import volume is around 40 thousand tons, and this figure is still growing.
"We have our own dragon fruit processing facility in Phan Thiet, Vietnam. We are one of the first foreign investment companies in Vietnam. We also cooperate with other factories in the area. Companies that wish to work with us have to meet our standards."
"Take product quality for example, our dragon fruit can not suffer from yellow leaves, black spots, blisters, or cracks. We also have strict standards for the selection of dragon fruit based on their color, plumpness, and weight. We strictly control every segment of the production process because we work hard to provide our customers with top-quality dragon fruit and minimal worries. We maintain these strict standards for all our brands. This means that consumers can trust any of our brands in the knowledge that we have done our utmost to guarantee top quality."
For more information:
Chen Haiqiao
Shenzhen Yuanxing Fruit Co., Ltd. // Yumsun
E-mail: chenhq@yumsun.com
Website: www.yumsun.com