China remains the world's largest producer and consumer of apples, according to a recent report on the country's apple industry development covering the 14th Five-Year Plan period from 2021 to 2025.
China's annual apple output exceeds 51 million tons, while annual consumption surpasses 47 million tons. The introduction of apple futures, described as the world's first fresh fruit futures contract, has increased China's role in global price discovery.
The report also notes growth in domestic seed technology. China has developed 158 apple varieties with independent intellectual property rights. Around 70 per cent of newly established orchards are planted with domestically developed varieties under modern production systems.
The industry structure has shifted from dispersed orchards toward more concentrated and standardized production in major growing regions. Production systems have increasingly integrated technologies such as variety breeding, dwarf-rootstock intensive cultivation, water-saving irrigation, and intelligent sorting.
Apple cultivation has also become a source of income in rural areas. Apples are grown in more than 20 provincial-level regions across China, covering altitudes from several dozen meters to over 3,700 meters and supporting livelihoods for millions of people.
In several producing areas, production systems combine enterprises, cooperatives, and growers. This approach allows producers to participate in harvesting as well as other value-chain activities such as processing and logistics.
In Yan'an in Shaanxi province, apples account for 61 per cent of farmers' operational income and support more than two million growers. In Tianshui in Gansu province, the 2025 harvest of the Huaniu apple variety has recorded higher prices and strong demand.
At the industry level, apple production is moving toward digital management and higher levels of mechanization. New marketing channels, including livestream commerce and cross-border e-commerce, are also expanding market access.
In 2024, China exported 980,900 tons of fresh apples, an increase of 23.24 per cent compared with the previous year. Export revenue from other apple products, mainly concentrated apple juice, reached nearly US$852.22 million, an increase of 89.06 per cent.
According to the report, China plans to continue adjusting apple variety structures, expand export markets, and further integrate production, processing, and distribution across the apple industry.
Source: People's Daily Online
