The Chinese production volume of wax apples is relatively small compared to such large fruits as apples and bananas. The natural conditions required for wax apple production limit the availability of agricultural production areas suitable for the production of wax apples. The most important wax apple production areas are located in Hainan, Taiwan, and Foshan. This is the time of year when the wax apple production season officially begins, and there is more than enough market demand.
Ms. Chen Xiaowei of Fushan Fruit Industry Co., Ltd. recently shared her analysis of current conditions in the Chinese wax apple market:
"The wax apple production season on our plantation in Yuxiong Village in Hainan officially began in December 2019 and will continue until June 2020. The production season began nearly one month later than in the 2018-2019 production year. The main reason for this delay was the impact from autumn typhoons on our wax apple plantations. The product quality of our wax apples is more or less the same as in previous years. However, the price of our wax apples is slightly lower than last year. The main reason for this decline in the price of wax apples is the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the fruit market. Consumers show little enthusiasm for shopping."
"We do not supply wholesale fruit markets, but we sell our wax apples via specialized fruit stores and gift shops. The price of the Fushan Wax Apple Emperor is therefore much higher than the price of average wax apples. However, the price is quite stable. We use gift boxes to package our wax apples. We are fortunate enough to have more market demand than supply. The reason for this situation is first of all that our wax apples have a more stable product quality as well as a better flavor and higher sugar content than the common Black Iron wax apple. Second, the overall production volume of wax apples is small. There are very few plantations outside of Hainan and Taiwan. Our main sales channels are different from the general sales channels of other wax apple producers, which means that the market price fluctuations only have a very limited influence on our sales."
"We resumed business on the 30th of January. Many agricultural products encountered a weak and chaotic market at that time because the COVID-19 outbreak severely reduced market activities and complicated distribution. We cooperated with Taoxiantian, a subsidiary company of the Alibaba Group, to transfer resources and solve the distribution problem. Our wax apples are not available in northeast China and northwest China, but we deliver everywhere else. During the outbreak of the corona virus we sold our own wax apples and sweet potatoes through regular retail channels, but we also helped other farmers who struggled to sell their agricultural products."
"This year we also started to accept direct orders. In general, these orders are for wax apples that are still on the tree. We also hope to expand the surface area devoted to wax apple plantation in Hainan or set up a cooperation for wax apple farmers in Hainan. We would like to work together to provide seedlings, technology, and guidance in plantation management. We would like to establish industry standards for product quality and turn this small-scale wax apple into a commercial fruit produced on an industrial scale according to industry standards. We hope to develop a wax apple brand that consolidates all these improvements in the wax apple industry."
In addition to wax apples, Fushan Fruit Industry also invest in other fruits such as longans. "The variety we produce is the Shixia longan. We have a plantation that covers a surface area of 30 hectares. The production season is in March and April. This year was the first year that we harvested longan from our plantation. The wax apples are still our main product. We pay particular attention to product quality and flavor. We invest resources and improve technology. We update our hardware as well as plantation management. While we continue to provide our customers with high-quality fruit, we also work hard to develop our concept of "top-quality Fushan export products".
For more information:
Chen Xiaowei
Fushan Fruit Industry
Tel.: 18089841070
E-mail: 168957073@qq.com