The kiwi berry, also known as the soft jujube kiwi, immediately brings to mind kiwi fruit from New Zealand, but the kiwi berry originates in China. The kiwi berry is grown in Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang, all provinces in China's northeast. The plantations are located in the mountains and hills. Later, the kiwi berry was introduced to New Zealand and other Western countries. More recently, however, the kiwi berries in Chinese high-end markets have all been imported from New Zealand at quite a high price.
Kiwi berry plantation
The overall surface area devoted to kiwi berry plantation in China is extremely limited. That is mainly because the kiwi berries take a long time to mature and few farmers have the resources to invest in this long process. In addition, the kiwi berries have an extremely soft skin, which makes them vulnerable during transportation and storage. One slight bruise can ruin the berry. This brings considerable financial risk for the farmers who try their hands at kiwi berries.
Kiwi berries
Dandong in Liaoning is one of the main kiwi berry plantations in China. The new production season is about to begin. Ms. Yu Wenxin of Dandong Ri Sheng Lin Ecological Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. recently talked about the current conditions in the Chinese kiwi berry industry.
She considered the market prospects and the conditions of distribution: "We plan to begin our harvest on the 30th of August this year. Our plantation is located in the Wulong Mountains in a small basin that is surrounded by mountains on all four sides. The kiwi berries benefit from this geographical location because the basin creates its own small weather system, which protects the kiwi berries from extreme weather conditions in other production areas. In addition, this is a peak year for kiwi berry plantations. The overall production volume significantly expanded. Furthermore, the product quality is great."
Kiwi berry plantation
When asked about the outbreak of Covid-19 earlier this year and its impact on the Chinese kiwi berry market, Ms. Yu Wenxin replied: "In the end, the general economic malaise has an impact on all of us, no matter how big or small that influence may be. We still maintain our strict standards for the ecological production of organic kiwi berries, and we pay careful attention to the product quality of the kiwi berries that leave our plantation. Not only is the product quality of our kiwi berries excellent, this fruit is also rich in minerals and amino acids, which have a beneficial influence on the immune system. We have a stable client base and Chinese consumers become more and more familiar with kiwi berries. we therefore expect our sales this season to experience only the smallest impact of the general market depression."
Different kiwi berry products
"The kiwi berry sales season will last two months longer than usual this year, which will allow us to better satisfy consumer demand. In order to extend the sales season, we have had to experiment with the kiwi berry varieties in our plantations in the last two years. We grow the early season Changjiang No. 1 as well as the mid- to late season Mixiang, Longcheng No. 2, and Liaofeng kiwi berry varieties. We manage both the plantation and the processing factory on site, so that we can guarantee the highest quality for all the kiwi berries that leave our hands. We do not mix our kiwi berries. We have long-term strategic partnerships with well-known Chinese e-commerce platforms, market traders, and supermarkets where we sell kiwi berries under our own Mixiang brand. We try to develop online and offline retail channels simultaneously, and we draw consumer attention with the quality of our kiwi berries."
For more information:
Ms. Yu Wenxin
Dandong Ri Sheng Ling Ecologocial Agricultural Development Co., Ltd.
Website: http://www.rslny.com
Tel.: +86 138 4159 8855
Tel.: +86 188 4150 1117
E-mail: [email protected]