Green Conference pears have become wildly popular in China since they arrived in that country a decade ago. Import data shows that, since 2011, the Chinese market has imported an estimated 35,000 tons of Truval Conference pears. These come from the Belgian cooperative, Belgische Fruitveiling (BFV).
"The Red Conference pear is the newest variety we've grown. We harvested the first crop this year," says the BFV's commercial director, Marc Evrard. "We presented this variety at the fourth China International Import Expo (CIIE). That was held from November 5 to 11 in Shanghai. In doing so, our partners and we want to respond to Chinese consumers' strong demand for novelties."
Introducing this latest variety's very first crop to the Chinese market reflects BFV's confidence in that market. Green Conference pears are already being distributed in 35 cities in China. "We're now the largest Western pear exporter on the Chinese market. We're expecting a 300% increase in Belgian Conference pears sales there over the next five years."
As many multinationals do with new products, BFV and Dole chose to introduce these Red Conference pears at the fourth CIIE. This is a large national, import-centric expo. "We brought Belgian Green Conference pears to the first three CIIEs. And buyers loved them," says Vivian Wang, brand director of Dole China. She says that in 2020, Dole's share of imported Conference pears made up 44% of China's annual pear imports. That is according to customs data.
At the expo, well-known Chinese reporter, Wang Bingbing, tasted the new Red Conference at Dole China's stand. She is currently one of the country's top journalists. The broadcast, starring the Belgian Red Conference, was shown on CCTV-13. CCTV-13 is China Central Television's 24-hour news channel and is the largest in mainland China. This broadcast reached more than 600 million viewers.
For more information:
Marc Evrard
Belgische Fruitveiling
Email: marc.evrard@bfv.be
Website: www.bfv.be