More than a dozen workers in the orchards on the western outskirts of Wenatchee, Washington, are picking green apples and loading them onto the trucks. These apples will be cleaned, sorted and boxed in a highly automated processing center. After that, in about two weeks, the apples will be delivered to Chinese consumers through China's e-commerce platform T-mall. The unique geographical and climate conditions make Wenatchee a perfect place for fruit cultivation. It is known as "Apple Capital" of the United States.
The Orwell Fruit Company, which owns the orchards, began to work with T-mall a few years ago and became one of the major overseas exporters of apples and cherries to China. Chris McCarthy, chief executive, said: "Chinese market is a tremendous opportunity for our fruits." After the Washington Apple Commission and T-mall partnered in 2013, the average annual sales of apples on T-mall increased by more than 100%. During T-mall's "Double 11" Sales in 2015, one million Gala apples from Washington were sold in 24 hours.
Rebecca Lyons, International Marketing Director at the Washington Apple Commission, said: "Members of our Commission are very excited about the opportunities that e-commerce offers to our apple industry." She said more than two million boxes of apples are shipped to China each year, which is 6% of Washington apple industry annual output. "China has become one of the top five markets for Washington's apples and we are looking forward to expanding our presence in China in the future," Lyons said.
Source: Xinhua News