The apple harvest in Luochuan, Shaanxi, began in late September and lasted until early November. The fresh apples are now all stored away in warehouses. Mr. Yang of Luochuan House of Apples, recently talked about the current conditions of the Luochan apple industry.
"The weather conditions were good in Luochuan this year. There was plenty of sunshine and sufficient rainfall. The apple production volume in Luochuan is 60% bigger than last year. The size, color, and sweetness of the apples are all ideal. There are only a few apples with moldy core disease. The volume of affected apples is less than 1% of our overall purchase volume. The price declined, of course, because the overall production volume massively increased. The purchase price of good-quality apples is currently around 2 yuan [0.29 USD] per 0.5 kg. When these apples leave storage they sell for around 3.7-3.8 yuan [0.53-0.54 USD] per 0.5 kg."
"Since the apple harvest was abundant and the price therefore low, most farmers prefer to keep their top-quality apples in storage until the price goes up. The current supply of top-quality apples is therefore relatively small. Most apples currently for sale are second-grade apples. Earlier this season the purchase price of second-grade apples was around 2.5-3 yuan [0.36-0.43 USD] per 0.5 kg. The sales price of these apples fluctuates with changes in the apple market," stated Mr. Yang.
Luochuan House of Apples has refrigerated storage facilities with a total capacity of 2 thousand tons. The company mainly sells red Fuji apples.
"The color of Luochuan apples is beautiful and the flavor excellent, because the difference in temperature between day and night is big in Luochuan, and sunshine is abundant. These conditions are excellent for the growth of apples. Luochuan apples are popular with Chinese consumers and receive a lot of praise in the domestic apple market. We mainly sell our apples in wholesale markets. Most of the apples end up in first- and second-tier cities. However, e-commerce platforms become more and more widespread these days, and so our online sales volume is growing as well. We have sold more than 600 boxes through e-commerce platforms this season. The online price of #70 apples is 88 yuan [12.56 USD] per box (of 30 apples)."
"Chinese consumers have increasingly high standards for fruit. As a result, we continue to work hard to improve the production standard in every segment of our production process. We are using organic fertilizer to improve the natural quality of our apples. We also make improvements to the pouches used to cover the apples, so we can minimize the damage of sunburn. We also use cardboard and wax-paper packaging to protect the environment. And we protect the apples in the orchard to avoid further damage by the sun."
"We are currently in negotiation with customers in Canada. We hope to expand our export market and bring Luochuan apples to even more consumers across the globe."
For more information:
Yang - Manager
Luochuan House of Apples
Tel.: +86 132 2700 3691
WeChat ID: +86 132 2700 3691