Two trucks carrying 63 metric tons of apples departed Jingning county in Gansu province for Kathmandu, Nepal, with arrival expected on Feb 10. The shipment reflects ongoing demand in Nepal, a long-established export destination for apples from the county.
The consignment is moving under a multimodal logistics arrangement combining road and sea transport. The apples are shipped from China through the ports of Qingdao in Shandong province or Shenzhen in Guangdong province, then transported by sea to Kolkata, India. From there, the fruit completes the final leg by road to Nepal under a fully enclosed cold-chain system.
By the end of 2025, Jingning's cumulative apple exports reached 320,000 metric tons with a total value of 2.25 billion yuan, about US$312 million, according to the Jingning Fruit Industry Association. Shipments during 2025 alone totaled 25,500 metric tons valued at 226 million yuan, about US$31 million, accounting for more than 86 per cent of the county's total foreign trade.
Fruit exports in January 2026 were valued at 29 million yuan, about US$4.0 million, representing a 10 per cent increase compared with the same period last year, said Ren Junxia, an official with the Jingning county bureau of commerce.
Jingning is China's largest apple-producing county in terms of large-scale cultivation, with more than 66,700 hectares of apple orchards. Apples produced in the county hold national geographical indication status and are included under the China–EU mutual geographical indication protection agreement.
"This batch is expected to arrive in Kathmandu by Feb 10," said He Penghu, head of Long Yuanhong Fruits Selling Co. He added that the company anticipates a year-on-year increase of 15 per cent in export volume during 2026.
According to Ren, Jingning plans to continue supplying established export markets while also exploring opportunities in Southeast Asia and the Middle East as part of its broader overseas market development strategy.
Source: ChinaDaily
