According to a report published by the China Chamber of Commerce for the Import and Export of Food, Indigenous Products and Animal By-products, China's fruit imports maintained their upward trajectory through 2023.
Last year, the Asian giant imported 7.52 million tonnes (USD 16.85 billion), up 3% and 15% from 2022. Meanwhile, Chinese fruit exports in 2023 amounted to 3.87 million tonnes ($4.98 billion), up 19% and 8% year-on-year. Notably, 2023 was the first year since 2020 in which both fruit imports and exports grew.
In terms of imports from China, the main fruits were fresh durian (USD 6,720 million), frozen durian (USD 1,040 million), fresh cherries (USD 2,650 million), bananas (USD 1,080 million) and mangosteen (USD 730 million). These categories accounted for 76% of China's total fruit imports.
Meanwhile, the main suppliers of fruit were: Thailand, Chile, Vietnam, the Philippines and New Zealand, which positions Chile as the leading supplier of temperate fruit in the southern hemisphere.
Fresh Durian: Last year, China imported USD 6,720 million of this fruit (an increase of 66% over the previous year). The volume was 1,426 million tonnes, up 73% from the previous year. Durian is the largest category of fruit imported from China.
Fresh durian is mainly imported from Thailand; in 2023, the import value was USD 4.57 billion (929,000 tonnes), a year-on-year increase of 19% and 18%. In July 2022, imports of fresh Vietnamese durian were authorised, totalling USD 2.14 billion (493,000 tonnes) in 2023.
Frozen durian: in 2023, imports from Thailand totalled $770 million, up 19% from the previous year, and the import volume was 108,000 tonnes, up 12% from the previous year. Imports of frozen durian from Malaysia amounted to USD 270 million, up 34% year-on-year, and the import volume stood at 25,000 tonnes, up 47% year-on-year.
Fresh cherries: cherries were the second largest imported fruit category after durian. In 2023, according to Chinese Customs data, imported cherries amounted to USD 2.65 billion, down 4% year-on-year, while the volume imported was 347,000 tonnes, down 5% year-on-year.
Of these, imports from Chile were the largest, at USD 2.55 billion, down 5% year-on-year, with an imported volume of 334,000 tonnes, reflecting a 7% year-on-year decline.
Bananas: in 2023, the volume of Chilean banana imports stood at USD 1.08 billion, down 7% year-on-year. The quantity imported was 1.768 million tonnes, down 2% year-on-year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and Ecuador were China's main suppliers of bananas. Banana imports from these four countries accounted for 97% of China's total banana imports.
Mangosteen: last year, the amount of imported mangosteen was USD 730 million and the import volume was 242,000 tonnes, an increase of 16% from the previous year. Thailand is China's largest mangosteen supplier, accounting for 86% of mangosteen imports.
China imported USD 620 million from Thailand, up 14% year-on-year, and the import volume was 207,000 tonnes, up 13% year-on-year. Imports from Indonesia stood at USD 110 million of mangosteen, with an import volume of 35,000 tonnes, a year-on-year increase of 31% and 36% respectively, accounting for 14% of the total mangosteen imported into China.
Green coconut: in 2023, China's imports of green coconut grew to $580, with an import volume of 1.182 million tonnes, a year-on-year increase of 2% and 10%. The main supplier countries are Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam, which account for 99% of China's total coconut imports.
Fresh kiwifruit: in 2023, fresh kiwifruit imports from China amounted to $490 million, with a volume of 118,000 tonnes, the same as last year. The main supplier was New Zealand, with an import value of $450 million, down 2% from the previous year, and an import quantity of 104,000 tonnes, down 3% from the previous year, accounting for 88% of kiwi imports from China.
According to data from Frutas de Chile, Chile sent 598,362 tonnes of fresh fruit to China in the 2022-2023 season, consolidating its position as the second largest destination country for Chilean fruit. The main species sent to the Asian giant were cherries (71% of total exports to China), plums (14%), table grapes (10%) and nectarines (6%).
In 2023, the value of fruit exports to China was USD 4,980 million, up 8% year-on-year, and the export volume was 3,868 million tonnes (up 19% year-on-year).
In terms of export value, the main categories were fresh apples, other citrus fruits (including satsuma and satsuma mandarins), fresh grapes, fresh pears, grapefruits and pomelos. The main export markets were Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China and the Philippines.
Other citrus fruit: in 2023, the value of citrus fruit exports was USD 850 million and the volume exported was 832,000 tonnes, an increase of 19% and 41% from the previous year. The main export markets were Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, the Russian Federation, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia.
Fresh grapes: in 2023, the export value of fresh grapes amounted to 810 million tonnes, up 12% from the previous year, and the export volume was 483,000 tonnes, up 28% from the previous year. The main export markets were Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Bangladesh.
Fresh pears: China exported fresh pears worth USD 540 million, with an export volume of 479,000 tonnes, an increase of 8% year-on-year. The main export markets for fresh pears were Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and Kyrgyzstan.
Grapefruit: in 2023, grapefruit exports were worth $170 million, up 39% from the previous year, and the volume exported was 191,000 tonnes, up 38% from the previous year. The main export markets were the Netherlands, the Russian Federation, Kyrgyzstan, Romania and Ukraine.
Fresh apples: in 2023, exports of fresh apples reached a value of USD 970 million, with a volume of 796,000 tonnes, down 7% and 3% from the previous year. The main export markets were Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Bangladesh, which recorded overall year-on-year declines.
Source: Mundoagro
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