The first day of the Shanghai International Fruit Expo was a great success. The line up of participating companies was amazing, and more than 80% of the 23,000 square meter expo location was covered by decorated booths.
"The vast majority of imported fruit in the Chinese market comes from the southern hemisphere. The production season in the southern hemisphere neatly complements the production season in China, so that many popular fruits can supply the market all year round," said Mr. Huang, a spokesperson for the international expo. One of the main stars of the expo was the Southern Hemisphere Fresh Fruit Export Association, a combination of the fruit export associations of Argentine, Australia, Brazil, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Uruguay, and South Africa.
Chile attaches particular importance to the Chinese market. Currently, Chile has already obtained permission for export to the Chinese market for 13 kinds of fruit. Their star product is the Chilean cherry. And this is the time of year when Chile starts exporting large volumes of fresh cherries.
Industry specialists are keeping a close eye on the developments in the new cherry season. "In addition to Chilean elements in the booths on the expo floor, we also organized a Chilean cherry panel in the China International Fruit Forum that takes place during the expo. We invited export and import representatives to share their understanding of the cherry market. We also invited Ronald Bown, chair of the Chilean Fruit Export Association (ASOEX), but because of the pandemic he was unable to attend in person, so he attended the opening ceremony online instead."
In addition to Chile, New Zealand was also well represented in the expo. New Zealand products drew the attention of many visitors. The New Zealand Chamber of Commerce organized a booth with Mr. Apple and other famous New Zealand companies. Other well-known New Zealand brands such as Zespri and T&G also set up their own booths.
In this internet age, online traders such as 'Douyin e-commerce' represent huge potential. That is why live-stream service 'Douyin' also set up a booth at the expo. Many 'trending people' in the fruit industry also joined in the expo.
This is the fifth China International Fruit Forum. The forum has already become the annual meeting for the Chinese fruit industry. Present at the forum this year were panels on Chilean cherries, online retail, and the challenges and opportunities for the New Zealand fruit industry in the Chinese market, as well as international distribution during the pandemic. The forum also invited representatives from major fruit industry leaders such as Zespri, Pagoda, and Dole to share their experience.
The exposition was delayed twice because of the pandemic, but one could say that the third time is the charm. Mr. Huang commented: "The fact that this exposition took place during a time when the pandemic is not yet completely over, shows the maturity of Chinese Covid-19 prevention measures. Everybody feels a sense of security from the 'meticulous measures', and the lack of widespread lockdown measures. We are thankful for these improvements, and proud of these national achievements. And we are thankful for the loyalty of the traders who participate in our expo. In some expositions the participants cancel due to delays, but that barely happened in our situation. We are also thankful for the visitors who had to present the negative outcome of a recent Covid-19 test. They went through a lot of hardship for this expo!"
"We hope that our expo has given old friends in the industry the opportunity to reconnect and new friends the opportunity to meet. We are proud to see colleagues exchange information, make connections, and reap mutual benefits," said Mr. Huang.
For more information:
Mr. Huang
Shanghai International Fruit Expo
E-mail: everflourish@fruitexpo.cn