From January to July this year, China's total imports of coconuts amounted to 566,000 tons, an increase of 35.3% over 418,000 tons in the same period last year. The total import value was $332 million, up 49.9% from $221 million in the year-ago quarter.
From the perspective of origin, from January to July this year, China's imports of coconuts from Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam accounted for about 99.6% of the total imports, accounting for 48.6%, 32.5%, and 18.4% respectively. It is worth noting that the proportion of coconuts imported from Thailand increased significantly from January to July this year. Last year, Thailand's proportion of the total imports was 37.1%, lower than Indonesia's 42.0%.
In other words, the share of coconuts from Thailand increased significantly from January to July this year, surpassing Indonesia to become the largest producer of coconuts imported to China, and the proportion of coconut imports from Thailand has been stable at about 38% from 2019 to 2021.
In terms of price, coconuts imported from Thailand still show a higher price, at $0.88/kg from January to July this year, much higher than the price in Indonesia ($0.31/kg) and Vietnam ($0.29/kg).
However, the average price in January-July this year is slightly lower than the average price in 2021, and the price of imported coconuts from Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam was $0.90/kg, $0.30/kg, and $0.32/kg, respectively.
Source: Mingliang