Fruit and vegetable companies in Gansu are gradually recovering and both production and retail are resuming normal levels as the COVID-19 epidemic in China is gradually taking a turn for the better. Manager Guan Li, a spokesperson for Gansu Yibing Online Wholesale Trade Development Co., Ltd. recently talked about current conditions in the red Fuji apple market in China.
"Our sales volume of red Fuji apples last month declined by 30%-40% in comparison with last year. Many supermarkets and fruit stores are still temporarily closed down for business. Consumer power is insufficient to maintain regular sales volumes. The decline in sales primarily takes place in offline retail channels. Our e-commerce platform is doing somewhat better. However, the COVID-19 epidemic also limits transportation. There is a shortage of distribution personnel. Even when we have enough online orders, we sometimes do not have the workers to process and deliver an order on time. More recently, however, conditions improved. The distribution system within Gansu has completely recovered."
"As for the price, we have kept our price frozen during the COVID-19 epidemic, while maintaining product quality standards, to protect people's health and maintain regular market supply. The current price of red Fuji apples is around 8 yuan [1.13 USD] per 0.5 kg. That is more or less the same as around this time last year," explained manager Guan.
"The apple harvest was abundant this production season, so the apple reserves are quite large. In addition, the delivery speed slowed down because of the COVID-19 epidemic, which means that we have more apples in reserve than last year. We have more than 10 thousand tons of red Fuji apples in refrigerated storage."
"The new production season has only just begun in Gansu production areas. The weather conditions in production areas are currently normal. The apple trees are expected to blossom during the middle of April.
When asked about changes in the surface area devoted to apple production in Gansu, manager Guan replied: "Changes in the surface area devoted to apple plantation in Gansu are dependent on changes in the surface area of refrigerated storage facilities. The overall capacity of refrigerated storage in Gansu has not improved, which means that apple farmers in Gansu are not likely to rapidly expand the surface area devoted to apple plantation. The overall surface area is more or less the same as last year."
Yibing Online Wholesale Trade Development cooperates with apple farmers. The combined surface area devoted to apple plantation reaches 67 hectares. In addition to apples, the company also grows large volumes of multi-colored potatoes.
When asked about the company plans for future development, manager Liu answered: "European market preferences are leaning towards imports of high-quality, organic products. We are currently applying for the relevant certifications for our organic apple plantation. In the future we hope to be able to expand our export market and bring unique agricultural products from Gansu to an even greater number of customers in overseas markets."
For more information:
Liu Yibing - Manager
Gansu Yibing Online Wholesale Trade Development Co., Ltd.
Tel.: +86 1773998833