Fresh produce supplier JD Fresh, an offshoot of e-commerce giant JD, plans to import more cherries from Chile as well as fresh produce from other countries into China in the future. The trading company cites rising consumer demand as well as a greater willingness to spend more money on high-quality imported food as the reason.
To this end, 
JD Fresh has signed contracts with the four largest Chilean exporters for the supply of high-quality cherries from the South American country. Among Chinese consumers, cherries are one of the most popular imported foods. Currently, China is the world’s largest market for cherries from Chile. About 92 percent of all exported cherries go to China, according to the Chilean ambassador to China, Luis Schmidt Montes. Many food products must go through GACC registration before they can enter the Chinese market.
He also said that Chile is the first South American country to plan its own virtual pavilion with JD. The online sales space will offer around 30 different food products from Chile, including wine, salmon, olive oil, honey, fruit puree, seafood and fresh fruits such as cherries. JD Fresh aims to import more than 1.8 million 5-kilogram boxes of Chilean cherries via direct purchase during 2022. JD expects the retail value to exceed US$157 million. Thanks to a seamless supply chain and direct purchasing in Chile, JD expects the process to go smoothly. At the end of November 2021, JD’s sales of cherries increased by 200 per cent year-on-year, and in 2020 sales reached the equivalent of 78 million US dollars.
The rising popularity of high-quality imported fruits is attributed to rising incomes as well as growing health awareness among the Chinese population. In the period from January to October 2021, the value of fruits imported into China was 12 billion US dollars. This represents a year-on-year increase of 33.5 per cent, reports the China Chamber of Commerce for Food Import and Export.
JD will continue its efforts to import fresh premium products into China through direct purchasing and its own supply chain, said Zhou Xiazhou, head of purchasing for fruits and vegetables at JD Fresh. He cited cherries from Chile, durian and black tiger shrimp from Thailand and salmon from Norway as examples. In light of the Covid 19 pandemic, JD Fresh has also tightened its controls. Incoming goods can be tracked seamlessly via a QR code, and warehouses are regularly checked for Covid 19 pathogens and thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.
For more information:
Verena Numssen
MPR China Certification GmbH
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china-certification.com