In Mei County pf Baoji City, Shaanxi Province, one of the main producing areas of kiwifruit in China, the kiwifruit production season is in full swing. The nursery of the Qifeng Fruit is located in Mei County. Bruce Lu of the company recently shared his insights with FreshPlaza on the progress of the current production season.
The kiwifruit is divided into Chinese kiwifruit and delicious kiwifruit, of which the Chinese kiwi is represented by red and yellow heart fruit, and the delicious kiwi is represented by green heart fruit. There are many kinds of domestic red heart fruit, which have become relatively mature in recent years, and the one with high market acceptance is the Donghong sunshine fruit. The fruit surface is beautiful, the shelf life is long, and the sugar content is high. It is very popular with sellers and the supply cycle can be extended to March next year.
"The domestic green-heart fruit is currently mainly sweet green-heart fruit, followed by Qifeng No. 1, Cuixiang, Xuxiang, and the well-known Hayward. The supply cycle of green fruits can be extended to May next year.
"In the domestic market, the most popular green fruit is Xuxiang, the price is medium, and the taste of ‘80% sweet+20%sour, rich and juicy' is very popular among consumers, which has also led to a decrease in the sales of other domestic and imported green fruits year by year. Since September this year, we have also achieved the goal of delivering red-, yellow- and green-heart kiwis at the same time. In terms of current production, green hearts account for 60% and red and yellow hearts 40%. Bruce Lu said.
"The output is basically stable this year, but due to the high temperatures in the growing area for a long time, there are more medium-sized fruits and fewer large fruits. However, the overall sugar content of this year's fruits is higher and the taste is better."
When talking about Qifeng Fruit's distribution channels, Bruce Lu said: "We are currently selling through all channels on the whole network, from traditional wholesale markets to direct sourcing stores. Qifeng Fruit has identified its role as a supply chain service provider in the origin of kiwifruit. With its stable product quality, it is favored by various supermarkets and large fruit chain stores. For online sales, Qifeng Fruit has always been the supplier of Alibaba and JD.com, the leading domestic e-commerce companies. In recent years, with the rapid development of e-commerce in Douyin, Qifeng Fruit is also actively promoting the development of the e-commerce layout."
In September every year, fresh kiwi fruit is launched, and the peak online sales volume of the entire origin can reach 300,000 orders/day. The fast-pace of modern life means young people have developed the habit of online shopping. On the other hand, Xuxiang, the green fruit with outstanding taste, is indeed very popular in China.
"In terms of export, Qifeng Fruit currently mainly exports to 26 countries and regions including the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Russia, Canada and Chile. The products are very popular in these countries.
"The green fruit in the international market is currently dominated by Hayward. In recent years, a small amount of high-end green fruit has been exported, but the volume is small. We hope to provide more sweet green-heart fruit for the international market in the future, including Xuxiang, a mature long-term product, and Donghong, a red-heart fruit.
"As the origin of the world's kiwifruit, China is rich in kiwifruit germplasm resources, and it is hoped that more countries will open up access to Chinese kiwifruit, allowing more high-end varieties to enter the international market."
"Considering that the supply period of domestic kiwifruit is from September to the beginning of May of the following year, in the next 5-10 years, we hope to be able to plant in South Africa and Chile, and then sell the kiwifruit back to China, so that an uninterrupted supply throughout the whole year can be achieved," Bruce Lu concluded when talking about the market development strategy of Qifeng Fruit for the next few years.
More information:
Bruce Lu
Shaanxi Qifeng Fruit