The available volumes of Chinese exotic fruits for export will not increase this year. This is expected by importer Kokkeel of Jin-Jin Europe from Holland. The main cause is the disappointing harvest due to heavy rainfall, but also the increased purchasing power of the Chinese consumer due to the strong growth of the Chinese economy plays an important role.
"In China with half of the current world population, the rise in purchasing power of especially the middle class has been huge the past few years. The expectation is that another 200 million purchase powerful consumers will join in the next 8 to 10 years, who all want to buy a house and a car, but who also want and can pay a larger amount for their food", according to the importer.
More demand on local market
According to Jin-Jin the pomelo's are more expensive this year due to the many rain storms that hit large parts of China, causing a harvest reduction of 50%. There is also a clear trend showing more demand on the local market. "The available export volumes for Chinese Fuji apples, pear and kiwi's are scarcer than previous years. These products are sold on local markets as well as on the market in South-East Asia for good prices."
Countries such as Thailand and Vietnam also grow pomelo's, but the import from Thailand is more difficult due to insufficient size sorting and the pricing, that is still calculated by kilo. The Vietnamese growers are prepared to adapt more quickly to the desired quality demands by the European markets.
According to Kokkeel they're heading to a balanced market in China on a short term, that won't be cheap for Europe any more and there also won't be any more commission sending sent through the increased home demand. The Chinese are very active in many African countries to play a larger roll in the food production there, for basic products rice and grain as well as for more expensive luxury products. Countries such as Chile, South-Africa and the U.S. have already made free trade pacts for the export of their products to China.
