As the South African apple export season draws to a close, China's imports of South African apples this year exceeded one million boxes for the first time. According to HortGro Pome, South African apple exports to China totaled 1,045,457 boxes this season, a sharp increase of about 30% from 800,000 boxes in the same period last year. Based on 12.5kg per box, the total import volume reached 13,068 tons.
Fresh apples from South Africa are listed as anti-season fruits, capturing the market gap of domestic apples from February to August in China. Thanks to South Africa's abundant sunshine and pristine natural conditions, the apples produced are rich in flavor and crisp and sweet. In terms of variety, Fuji and Royal Gala/Gala have become the main varieties of South African apples exported to China.
As of Week 35, 8,605 tonnes of Fuji and 3,473 tonnes of Royal Gala were exported, or 92% of the total. The new variety Bigbucks has dark red skin, high sweetness, and low acidity, which is very suitable for the taste of Chinese consumers, and its export volume has increased by 100 tons to 801 tons on the basis of 700 tons in the same period last year.
This year, Pagoda once again took South African Fuji as its main product and specially registered it under the "Newton Apple" brand, and chose to promote it in the national stores in the summer.
The representative of Pagoda said that the South African apples imported by Pagoda this year were close to 350 containers, an increase of nearly half over last year. The mini and cute Newton apples are deeply loved by children and young consumers.
In recent years, South African apple exports to China have increased gradually, and the market performance is very eye-catching. According to the General Administration of Customs, by the end of 2021, South Africa surpassed Chile and the United States became the second largest exporter of apples to China. South Africa exported a total of 12,281 tonnes of apples to China in 2021, up 64% year-on-year and accounting for 18% of total apple imports in China.
Source: Food World