Many people in China spent their National Day holiday week traveling, which led to a decline in market consumption, and banana imports have decreased over the past three weeks.
“The current FOB price of products from the Philippines is about 8 US dollars/carton (13.5 kg). The pricing of bananas from Vietnam is usually set by those from the Philippines and Guangxi, China. Imported products from Ecuador have the same FOB price of 8 US dollars/carton, but their market price in China is higher due to the high shipping cost, at 70-80 yuan/carton. We currently import about 30 containers per week from South America and 60-80 containers from the Philippines,” Mr. Xia, Director of Shanghai Suofeiya International Trading Co., Ltd., said.
“In the past, China only imported bananas from the Philippines and South American countries, but in the past two years, more and more bananas from South East Asian countries have entered the Chinese market. Especially, with the increase in the acreages dedicated to growing bananas, imports from Vietnam and Cambodia have increased. In the first half of last year, our imports from Vietnam were about 30-40 containers per week but they have surged to 80-100 containers per week in the first half of this year,” Mr. Xia said. “The industry in the Philippines is more mature and has a higher level of mechanization but products from Vietnam have an advantage in price.”
When talking about Chinese consumers' demand and consumption trends, Mr. Xia said, “Over the recent years, acreages dedicated to growing bananas in China have declined and imports from Vietnam and Cambodia have surged. Chinese consumers now have increasingly higher requirements for the appearance, taste, and freshness of bananas. Many large processors have started to bring in advanced equipment such as baking plants and smart processing lines. In terms of consumer preferences, products sold to the north are mostly South American bananas, while those sold to the south are mainly from the Philippines.”
Shanghai Suofeiya International Trading Co., Ltd. specializes in banana imports and trade and has its own banana growing centers in Vietnam and the Philippines. “We want to give Chinese consumers more choices and give them access to bananas from more countries!”
More information:
Contact: Xia Zuxiang (Director)
Company: Shanghai Suofeiya International Trade Co., Ltd.
Phone: +86 13601718690