"The first pomegranate trees in Sichuan production areas are already bearing fruit. However, the weather conditions were not great when the trees were in blossom, and so the product quality is not that great this year. Furthermore, the pomegranates are expected to enter the Chinese market one week later than last year.
The should enter the market in large volumes in late July. The overall surface area devoted to pomegranate plantation in Sichuan did not significantly expand this year, but we have broadened our scope and purchase pomegranates from more production areas, which also means that our sales volume will likely increase by 5-10 million kg." This is according to Ms. Liu, spokesperson for Chengdu Bin Guo Agriculture Co., Ltd.
"Seedless Tunisian pomegranates were very popular in the Chinese market in the last few years. Fruit traders gradually began to crowd the pomegranate market. As market competition grew more fierce, the market also became somewhat chaotic. There is one crucial element for producers if they want to stand out in a competitive and chaotic market, which is guaranteed product quality and standardized production. The pomegranate is a relatively minor fruit in the Chinese fruit market, and not many companies are willing to invest in the equipment necessary to produce top-quality pomegranates. However, we believe that automation is the key to standardized production of top-quality pomegranates," explained manager Liu.
"The main area of competition in the Chinese pomegranate market is standardization. Our goals for the next few years are to integrate the pomegranate plantations in Sichuan and send out technical teams to assist farmers with pomegranate plantation, to establish standards for harvest and packaging methods, and to eliminate rampant, unfair competition."
Bin Guo Agriculture will continue to sell pomegranates as usual this year, but will also invest in the development of online retail channels. "Our online sales volume has significantly increased since the outbreak of Covid-19. Although the outbreak has largely been brought under control in China and the market has already recovered, Chinese consumers are now accustomed to online shopping. We have noticed that while our offline sales are gradually recovering, the volume of online orders does not decline. We therefore decided to adjust our marketing strategy. We plan to expand online sales via our new e-commerce platform in the second half of this year," explained manager Liu.
Bin Guo Agriculture owns a pomegranate plantation that covers an area of 67 hectares. The most famous pomegranate variety that Bin Guo Agriculture grows is the Tunisian Ruby pomegranate.
When asked about the variety of fruit available for online purchase, manager Liu explained, "We mainly plan to sell our most famous Tunisian Ruby pomegranate, but we also sell some fruits that are characteristic for the southwest of China to provide a variety of options for our customers to choose from. For example, we will sell Sichuan nectarines, plums, tangerines, and kiwi fruit.
"We plan to integrate wholesale purchases from local plantations with online retail. Take the nectarines for example, they have just entered the market. Although Sichuan is not one of the important nectarine production areas, but the nectarines that are produced here are characteristically sweet and fragrant because the natural environment of Sichuan is well-suited for the cultivation of a wide variety of fruits. Sichuan can therefore satisfy Chinese consumers with characteristic new flavors."
For more information:
Liu Wen - Manager
Sichuan Bin Guo Agriculture Co., Ltd.
E-mail: liuwen@b-guo.com
Tel.: +86 18628090302