Visiting a capital like Beijing is the perfect way to learn about local fresh produce purchasing habits. The city has approximately 21 million inhabitants and its wholesale market handles 15 million tons of produce a year.
On 14th January, as part of the presentation of Macfruit in China, we visited a store of the Easyhome Ankang supermarket chain which was being inaugurated that day. We found high-quality fruit and vegetables for high-end customers. The supermarket also grows lettuce with a hydroponic cultivation technique (see related article).
One thing that stunned the Italian delegation was the fact that the supermarket sold all kinds of fruit and vegetables from all over the world. Prices were rather high, especially considering most people do not make more than €500 a month. However, as mentioned, this chain aims at a clientele with a good purchasing power. In the video below, an overview of the products and prices.
Play to watch a video shot in the supermarket
There was only one Italian product - kiwis from Gruppo Mazzoni. Kiwis are the only product that can currently be exported to China. The citrus fruit protocol is still underway and afterwords it will be the turn of top fruit.
We then asked our guide about the prices in a stall. Strawberries were sold at 25 Renminbi (one Euro is approximately 7.30 Renminbi), the price of tomatoes was 15 R and that of chestnuts was 40 R. The lady at the stall was not very happy when she realised we were asking for prices without buying anything.
Watch a video in the streets of Beijing
In the streets, very few shops sold fruit and vegetables and it was actually very difficult to distinguish exactly what was edible. One of the girls from the delegation commented that "one must eat without asking too many questions..."
