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Who is the new “King of Fruits” for export?

2021-6-18 15:12:22

As we all know, fruit is one of the three major categories of China’s traditional agricultural exports. Fruit exports have a very positive effect on driving industrial development and increasing income of farmers. However, few people understand that citrus has surpassed apples and become China’s largest export fruit in recent years. Recently, Trade Promotion Center of CCPIT has gone to Jiangxi province to conduct field investigations on high-quality development of citrus exports, and exchanged with leading export enterprises in major citrus-producing provinces (and municipalities directly under the Central Government) including Jiangxi, Fujian, and Chongqing, gaining an in-depth understanding of the current status of citrus production and trade, experience and practices for export promotion and future challenges.

With a time-honored cultivation of more than 4,000 years, China has become a top country in citrus fruit production in the world.

Citrus is one of the four major fruits in the world with the first rank by planting area and output. At present, more than 130 countries around the world produce citrus, and more than 120 countries are engaged in citrus trade. China is one of the important places of origin with a long history of more than 4,000 years in cultivation. It is rich in resources with the characteristics of different varieties, easy cultivation, large yields, high returns, a wide range of excellent varieties, and fresh supply throughout the year. It is the fruit with the largest cultivated area, the highest yield and the largest consumption in China. It is mainly produced in Guangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Fujian, Guangdong, Chongqing, and Zhejiang provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government). Other provinces such as Yunnan, Guizhou, Shaanxi, Henan also have a small amount of planting. In recent years, the industry has seen a booming development, with an annual output of 37 million tons, making china a veritable major citrus producer.

With outstanding advantages, export of citrus leaps to the first place in fruit products.

China is the world’s third largest exporter of citrus, behind Spain and South Africa. Since 2019, citrus has surpassed apples to become China’s largest export fruit. In 2020, China’s citrus export volume was 1.045 million tons, with an export value of USD 1.58 billion; the import volume was 431 thousand tons, with an import value of USD 490 million, and a trade surplus of USD 1.09 billion. Currently, it is exported to more than 60 countries and regions, with the main export markets concentrated in Russia and Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, which account for more than 70% of citrus exports. The main citrus varieties exported by China include orange, grapefruit, lemon, mandarin orange and hybrid citrus, among which mandarin orange has the largest export volume, accounting for 63% of China’s total citrus exports in 2020, followed by grapefruit, accounting for 23.7%.

Jiangxi Nanfeng mandarin orange is a unique variety in China with a cultivation history of more than 1700 years. It has been a royal tribute since the Kaiyuan period of Tang Dynasty. Now Nanfeng mandarin orange has been awarded many titles, such as National Geographical Indication Product, China Well-known Trademark, China Famous Brand for Agricultural Product and Green Food. It has been selected as one of the top 100 Geographical Indication Products in China in 2020, among the first batch of EU Protected Geographical Indications in China, and as the Regional Benchmark Brand of Agricultural Products in China, making it a well-known overseas “Chinese business card”.

Overcome difficulties to enter the middle and high-end market.

At the end of 2020, Nanfeng mandarin oranges and Guanxi Honey Pomelo were successfully exported to the United States, taking an important step to overseas markets. In order to promote the export of citrus to the US market, relevant export companies in Jiangxi have invested in the construction of 5,000 mu (823.68 acres) of high-standard orchards and class 100,000 aseptic processing plants. From planting to processing, the whole process is strictly in accordance with the European Union Global GAP Quality Management System, and the entire production process is implemented with scientific and standardized management. In order to make the products meet more than 300 technical indicators in the United States, including the unconventional standards such as the innermost fruit pulp temperature not higher than 1.67 degrees Celsius for 22 consecutive days, the export company invites domestic and foreign experts to solve the technical problems in the transportation of Nanfeng mandarin oranges to the United States. The optimal storage temperature was determined by trial and error and finally reached the standard requirements proposed by the United States.

The company has also invested in the establishment of an environment friendly, safe and pollution-free hypochlorous acid disinfection water plant, which has realized harmless disinfection and sterilization with the whole process from planting, processing of fruits to storage, transportation and fresh-keep, and has realized the replacement of more than 90% pesticides. The retail price of Nanfeng mandarin orange and Guanxi Honey Pomelo in the U.S. market is much higher than that of the traditional export market and China’s domestic market, which has promoted the transformation of the citrus industry to the high-end export market, and has become a strong driving force in improving local fruit prices, increasing farmers’ incomes, and stimulating high-quality development of the industry.

The high-quality development of citrus export has a long way to go.

China’s citrus products are highly competitive and have great potential for realizing exports to more foreign markets with larger quantities and higher added value, but the challenges we face cannot be ignored. First of all, most domestic orchards and enterprises cannot meet the standards of the European and American markets. Thus, it is necessary to increase investment in transformation and upgrading. However, the increasing of investment capacity and the shift of business philosophy of most agricultural enterprises and farmers require greater support and a longer period of time. Second, the citrus industry is vulnerable to diseases such as trypetid and Citrus huanglongbing (HLB). To meet higher market standards, joint prevention and control of pests and diseases in the entire production area is also required. In addition, the problem of long-standing cutthroat competition among citrus export companies have not been solved, and thus it is difficult to guarantee high quality and high prices. In the future, the service and support for enterprises can be improved through the construction of the High Quality Development Bases for International Agricultural Trade, assisting enterprises in solving related problems, and transforming export potential into large-scale export performance.

(Source: CCPIT / www.chinatradenews.com.cn)

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