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Executive Summary
Three recent reports affirmed the leading role of Guangdong Province
in the import of fresh fruit and dried nuts to China.
A vast volume of US oranges, grapes and apples arrived at Guangdong
for redistribution to other parts of China in 2000 and 2001. US
dried nuts enjoyed high popularity among Chinese consumers, with
pistachios, prunes, and almonds as the leading commodities.
US Fresh Fruits
1. US Washington Apple sales increased due to more purchase by
a trade delegation.
According to a year-end report of the Washington Apple Commission's
China office, apple imports were increased by 38.4 percent for
China and 42.1 percent for Hong Kong over the same period of the
previous year. This is attributed to the success of a trade delegation
which visited the United States during the harvest season of the
Washington apples in year 2000. The imports reached 47,243 boxes
directly shipped to China ports; its value was US$1,140,000. The
Hong Kong import was 1,951,317 boxes, of which about 70 percent
ended up in the China market. Its total value was US$47,200,000.
A corollary report from the famous Nanhai Lishui Fresh Fruit Market
confirmed that it distributed more than 1,400,000 boxes of Washington
apples last year, with a value of US$33,880,000.
The direct contacts between US apple producers and packers and
Chinese buyers made possible the reclaiming of US shares of the
apple market in China.
2. Imported fresh fruits at the Nanhai Lishui Fresh Fruit Market
increased in sale.
The Nanhai Lishui Fresh Fruit Market, the largest imported fresh
fruit wholesale center in South China, reported that US oranges,
lemons, grapes and cherry set a new record in 2001. Following
are the specifics:
| US Orange |
| Month |
(2000) |
(2001) |
| No. of Containers |
Value (US$) |
No. of Containers |
Value (US$) |
|
| January |
47 |
3,628,312 |
154 |
3,353,902 |
| February |
91 |
2,378,221 |
87.5 |
2,286,751 |
| March |
45 |
1,110,708 |
154 |
4,471,869 |
| April |
170 |
4,442,831 |
186 |
4,590,926 |
| May |
203 |
5,403,509 |
170.5 |
4,703,448 |
| June |
147 |
3,628,312 |
195 |
4,800,726 |
| July |
208 |
5,435,935 |
284 |
7,009,800 |
| August |
127 |
3,503,448 |
65 |
1,816,697 |
| September |
20 |
566,243 |
---- |
---- |
| October |
20.5 |
1,302,178 |
---- |
---- |
| November |
9 |
261,343 |
---- |
---- |
| December |
78.5 |
2,393,466 |
---- |
---- |
|
Total:
|
1266 |
34,054,506 |
1296 |
33,034,119 |
| |
|
|
(for 8 months only) |
| US Lemon |
| Month |
(2000) |
(2001) |
| No. of Containers |
Value (US$) |
No. of Containers |
Value (US$) |
|
| January |
0 |
0 |
8 |
195,136 |
| February |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| March |
3 |
73,176 |
10 |
228,675 |
| April |
0 |
0 |
11 |
234,773 |
| May |
0 |
0 |
18.5 |
423,049 |
| June |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| July |
3 |
68,603 |
31.5 |
672,305 |
| August |
18 |
466,497 |
12 |
237,822 |
| September |
8 |
207,332 |
---- |
---- |
| October |
0 |
0 |
---- |
---- |
| November |
3 |
77,750 |
---- |
---- |
| December |
6 |
146,352 |
---- |
---- |
|
Total:
|
41 |
1,039,710 |
91 |
1,991,760 |
| |
|
|
(for 8 months only) |
| US Grape |
| Month |
(2000) |
(2001) |
| No. of Containers |
Value (US$) |
No. of Containers |
Value (US$) |
|
| January |
228 |
10,203,315 |
194 |
5,804,114 |
| February |
0 |
0 |
60.5 |
2,126,933 |
| March |
0 |
0 |
334.5 |
8,725,735 |
| April |
0 |
0 |
334 |
9,308,941 |
| May |
0 |
0 |
276 |
7,736,334 |
| June |
0 |
0 |
56 |
1,773,842 |
| July |
0 |
0 |
29 |
918,597 |
| August |
3 |
222,142 |
85 |
2,709,208 |
| September |
0 |
0 |
---- |
---- |
| October |
0 |
0 |
---- |
---- |
| November |
21 |
845,183 |
---- |
---- |
| December |
28 |
1,095,608 |
---- |
---- |
|
Total:
|
280 |
12,366,248 |
1516 |
39,103,704 |
| |
|
|
(for 8 months only) |
| US Cherry |
| Month |
(2000) |
(2001) |
| No. of Containers |
Value (US$) |
No. of Containers |
Value (US$) |
|
| January |
0 |
0 |
11.5 |
1,502,722 |
| February |
0 |
0 |
1 |
36,105 |
| March |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| April |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| May |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| June |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| July |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| August |
0 |
0 |
2 |
203,267 |
| September |
0 |
0 |
---- |
---- |
| October |
0 |
0 |
---- |
---- |
| November |
0 |
0 |
---- |
---- |
| December |
0 |
0 |
---- |
---- |
|
Total:
|
0 |
0 |
14.5 |
1,742,094 |
| |
|
|
(for 8 months only) |
| US Fruits Versus Their Competitors in the China
Market for the First 8 Months of 2001: |
| Products |
No. of Containers from US (US$) |
Value of Imports from US(US$) |
No. of Containers from US(US$) |
Value (US$) |
|
| Apple |
943.5 |
22,239,632 |
532.5 |
19,579,557 |
| Oranges |
1296 |
33,034,119 |
479 |
14,763,944 |
| Lemon |
91 |
1,991,760 |
45.5 |
1,078,330 |
| Grapes |
1516 |
39,103,704 |
660 |
34,350,125 |
| Cherry |
14.5 |
1,742,094 |
0 |
0 |
|
Total:
|
3861 |
98,111,309 |
1717 |
69,771,956 |
| |
|
|
(for 8 months only) |
US Dried Nuts
1. US pistachios sell well in South China.
The sales of US pistachios in South China keep increasing every
year. Different brands of pistachios are available on the market
and the consumers prefer the US brands over brands from other
countries, attributing to the higher quality of the US products.
The Chinese importers usually imported the products in bulk and
then processed them into different flavors and packed them into
suitable supermarket packages. In this way, they have created
several brand names of their own for US pistachios in South China.
"Rainbow" is the registered brand name of Nan Xing
Fruit Nut Company. The company imported almost 300 containers
of pistachios from the US last year and supplied them to the large
scale supermarkets.
"Maple" and "Treetop" are the other famous
brands, popular among consumers in the Guangdong area.
2. US prunes enjoy high reputation in South China.
The California Prune Board initiated several promotional activities
to liaison with the Chinese importers and consumers last year.
These events were effective in promoting the image of US prunes.
Between October 2000 to August 2001, the imported prunes from
the United States into China had reached 135 tons, an increase
of 65 tons over the same period of the previous year. "Fuwei"
is a famous registered brand for US prunes in China. Last year,
the brand owner imported about 40 containers of prunes from the
United States.
3. The sales of US almonds are promising for the year of 2001.
"Rainbow" is also a brand name of US almonds. From
the end of 2000 to August 2001, the Nan Xing company had already
imported more than 100 containers of almonds from the United States.
Challenges for importing US fresh fruits and dried nuts :
1. Some Chinese importers complained about the quality inconsistency
of US products.
2. They also stated that the US suppliers are inconsistent in
the pricing of their products.
3. They expressed a need of more support from the US fresh fruits
and dried nuts associations, to educate the Chinese consumers
on how to differentiate US products from the faked products from
other countries/sources.
Ways to improve the exports of US fresh fruits and dried nuts:
- Ensure better quality control during shipment;
- Try to set up a consistent price list;
- Undertake more effective promotional activities;
- Initiate more liaison with Chinese importers.
Conclusion
Guangdong Province pioneered in the importing of foreign products
for several decades. This market continues to be the gateway for
US products. US exporters and distributors should become more
familiar with this market if they are interested in establishing
trade with China. With its close proximity to Hong Kong and China's
upcoming access into the WTO, Guangdong Province will play an
even more important role in consumer oriented trade.
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