Surge in Chinese fruit imports

During the first two months of 2018, China’s fruit imports jumped 22% in volume and 58% in value. The main contributors to this growth are cherries, oranges, blueberries, and bananas. China’s cherry imports set a new record, surging 191% higher to 135,000 tons compared to the same period in 2017. Chile is enjoying a record crop this year and the country’s producers are doing their utmost to satisfy Chinese consumers’ apparently insatiable hunger for cherries, exporting 134,000 tons in just two months (+194%).

Orange exports to China were up 40%, with 17,600 tons coming from the US (+30%), and 11,100 tons from Egypt (+76%). China’s domestic orange production was hit this year by citrus greening disease. As for blueberries, imports volumes are up 71% this year, with almost 95% arriving from Chile, with the remainder coming from Peru. China is the fastest-growing market for Chilean blueberries thanks to the perfect sequencing of the two counties’ seasons and the hard work carried out by Chilean trade delegations to promote the fruit in China.