Focus China: domestic cherries getting better and better, but a lot of attention goes to the Chilean season

On 3 February, at a supermarket on Guixi Street in Dianjiang County, Chongqing, citizens were sorting imported cherries.

During the cherry eating season, large numbers of cherries appear in fruit shops and online sales platforms across the country. 2J, 3J, 4J... They come in different sizes and colours, with a wide variety of packaging, but they have one thing in common: most are Chilean cherries.

In reality, however, China has a long history of growing its own 'cherries'. Red Star News reporters found that in regions such as Liaoning and Shandong, in the Bohai Bay area, and in the southwest, Sichuan and Yunnan, cherry cultivation has gained a certain scale and market impact.

In these areas, many young people who initially worked in the cities have returned home to cultivate cherries. The term 'cherries' is the English translation of 'cherries' and, to distinguish them from traditional cherries, foreign cherry varieties imported and grafted in China have been given the local name 'big cherries'.

Experts in the field point out that, compared to Chilean cherries, domestic 'big cherries' still have shortcomings in terms of taste, shelf life and level of cultivation. For the national cherries to beat the Chilean ones, there is still a long way to go.

Market

Wholesalers promote Chilean cherries, claiming that they are 'direct shipments from the place of origin'. On normal days, the Minghong fruit shop in Kunming's Wuhua district is always crowded. Despite being a convenience store of only 30 square metres, it offers affordable prices and fresh fruit.

Chen Qinlan, the manager, says that his shop follows a 'rotation' model, which means that prices should not be too high and therefore there is always a large influx of customers. Currently, the most expensive fruits sold in this shop are undoubtedly Chilean cherries.

In mid-January, when Red Star News reporters inquired about the price of a 5 kg box of cherries in Minghong, they were informed that the selling price was 400 yuan (€51.35 - $55.28) and 'not a penny less'. But by the end of January, as more Chilean cherries arrived on the Chinese market transported by sea, the price of the same 5 kg box of cherries had dropped to about 320 yuan (€41.08-$44.22).

With the price reduction, the discussion on the 'freedom to eat cherries' also became heated. Despite the price reduction, Chilean cherries are still more expensive than Thailand's queen fruit, the durian, in this fruit shop. Chen Qinlan explained that Chilean cherries are considered high-end fruits by customers and their selling period of about 40 days coincides perfectly with the ripening period.

On 28 January, Red Star News reporters visited the Jinma Zhengchang fruit market in person and discovered that wholesalers mainly promote 'Chilean cherries'.

Some wholesalers lure customers with signs that read 'Free parking for fruit purchase', while others have banners advertising '5 kg of cherries for 199 yuan (€25.55 - $27.50)' and even less, and there are even cherry wholesalers who claim to be able to ship Chilean cherries directly from their place of origin. The main variety of Chilean cherries on the market is the 'Rabins'.

Hu Xiaomai, a fruit trader who has been working at the Jinma Zhengchang fruit market for many years, says that Chilean cherries in the Yunnan market are currently imported by sea from Guangzhou.

Cherries are generally classified in grades such as 2J, 3J, where a higher number represents a larger size and thus a higher price. "In reality, consumers find it difficult to distinguish the differences between the different varieties and qualities of cherries, and it is not excluded that some wholesalers relabel lower quality products as higher quality.

"Very cheap cherries can also be found on the market, but they are smaller in size. Consumers are advised to buy with caution,' says Hu Xiaomai. Several fruit distributors explain that Chilean cherries have a crisper texture than domestic 'big cherries' and a longer shelf life, but the prices of the two varieties do not differ much.

Chen Qinlan told Red Star News reporters that Chilean cherries have a better market response and every year from June to July, he sells some domestic 'big cherries', but 'they cannot be sold after two days', because domestic cherries rot more easily and their flavour deteriorates quickly.

Hu Xiaomai points out that cherries grown in some areas of Yunnan are still very popular on the market. For example, in some cherry-growing places in Kunming and Xundian, citizens can go directly to the orchards to pick them. 'During the harvest season, these cherries already attract citizens to the orchards for picking through agro-tourism activities and are not sold on the market,' says Hu Xiaomai.

Research

Cherry cultivation in China has reached a certain scale In some places, old cherry varieties are being replaced Red Star News reporters found that in regions such as Liaoning and Shandong in the Bohai Bay area, as well as in south-west Sichuan and Yunnan and north-west Xinjiang, cherry cultivation has reached a certain scale and market impact.

Some young people who initially worked in the city have returned home to grow cherries. For example, Wang Wenyi, a graduate of Fudan University, rented 500 mu (33 hectares) of land in his home province of Henan to grow cherries, resulting in a bumper crop in 2020.

Chinese cherries are usually released in May, but in some areas, double-temperature and double-controlled greenhouses are used to anticipate the consumer market, competing with Chilean cherries. According to a 1st February report by the financial channel CCTV, greenhouses of 'big cherries' in Dalian, Liaoning, were placed on the market 40 days earlier, taking advantage of the consumption season during the Spring Festival.

The report reveals that in the greenhouses of Xilitun village in Dalian, about 78 'big cherry' trees are cultivated per greenhouse, with an output of about 2,000 jin (13,334 hectares), and the total income ranges from 200,000 to 300,000 yuan (€25,673/€38510 - $27640/$41460). The cultivation area of 'big cherries' in Dalian is 360,000 mu (24,000 ha), with an annual production of 250,000 tonnes and an annual value of almost 10 billion yuan (€1.2 billion - $1.38 billion).

Fumin, in Yunnan, is also one of the best known places for the traditional origin of cherries. In the village of Chijiu Zumili, there is a 100-acre demonstration park for outdoor cherry cultivation.

In May 2022, Yunnan Agricultural University researcher Liang Quan, presenting the cherry base, said that due to the rains, the cherries in general in this base are slightly sour, but still have a good level of sweetness. Liang Quan emphasised that the colour and uniformity of the fruit shape are the standards for assessing the quality of cherries from an aesthetic point of view.

Chijiu in Fumin is one of the main cherry production areas in Kunming. The local climate is suitable for the development of the characteristic wooden fruit industry. Thirty-two early, medium and late varieties of cherries from Europe and America have been introduced and developed. Eleven varieties of cherries adapted to the climatic environment of the Yunnan highlands have been cultivated, with a cherry-growing area of more than 1,000 acres; the main cherry varieties are more than 10, such as 'Meizao', 'Brooks' and 'Sami'.

According to growers, the production of local cherries is gradually increasing and experts have given many tips on outdoor cultivation in high altitude and low latitude areas. Local officials in Chijiu said that the average net yield per mu per year of local old variety cherries is around 2000 yuan (€256 - $276) and, when the cherry yield is relatively good, the net yield can be more than six times that of the old varieties.

Cherries have replaced traditional local varieties and have been the direction of Chijiu's industrial adjustment.

Li Li is a member of the China Fruit Distribution Association and executive director of the Yunnan Fruit Industry Development Committee of the Yunnan Private Entrepreneurs Association. He presented the cherry consumption in China, which is mainly divided into two stages.

"Cherries on the current market come mainly from Chile, which is the first to ripen in the southern hemisphere, and arrive in China in the first quarter to coincide with consumption during the Spring Festival. Then in May, the cherries from the north-east ripen and in June those from Ya'an, Sichuan.

Li Li said that compared to Chile in general, the cherry growing bases in Yunnan are scattered and small. The success stories are not many. In terms of cultivation technology, there is still a long way to go. "Taking Yunnan as an example, the introduction of cherries in Yunnan is almost 10 years old, but due to differences in quality and technical management, the current cultivation is not considered very successful.

The experts' opinion

The national technology for growing cherries is not yet mature Horticulture should focus on reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

Li Li also presented that cherries have a high dormancy time requirement. The cold required for sweet cherries to complete their dormancy is no less than 1,000 hours at a temperature below 7.2 ℃. Although Yunnan has a three-dimensional climate, the intense sunlight in Yunnan compensates for the dormancy time.

These conditions limit the development of cherry cultivation in Yunnan. Some companies use tarpaulins to block direct sunlight and provide cherry tree seedlings with sufficient dormancy time, but this increases the cost of cherry tree cultivation to some extent. Li Li said.

China generally imports varieties from Russia and the US, such as No 8 from Russia and Early from the US, but these varieties, once they enter the Chinese market, are grafted onto local seedlings to adapt to the new growing environment. Li Li presented that since the technology of cherry cultivation in China is not yet mature, no independent product standard system has been created as in Chile.

In some areas of Yunnan, cultivated cherries have a good taste and a higher price than imported cherries, 'but in terms of the market, consumers have limited knowledge, because even if it is the same variety, the taste varies in different growing areas, and consumers do not even have effective traceability methods'.

Professor Zhang Caixi, a cherry cultivation technology scientist at the National Peach Industry Technology System and professor at the School of Agriculture and Biology at Shanghai Jiaotong University, is known as the 'cherry professor'. In April 2014, Zhang Caixi, as a poverty alleviation officer in Dianxi appointed by the Ministry of Education, arrived in the western mountainous and border areas of Yunnan, where he began a two-year assignment.

He discovered that in southwest China, such as Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, where the altitude is high, there are many mountains and the sunlight is intense, many areas are suitable for cherry cultivation. However, after extensive research, he found that local farmers, even though they had started planting cherries, had many blind spots in their understanding of the characteristics of the varieties and how to care for them properly, resulting in many cultivation failures.

"Currently, most of the growers in China are small farmers." Zhang Caixi pointed out that the cherry industry in Europe and America is booming and that cherry cultivation in China also has a broad future. "China has a large population and needs to ensure food production. Cherry cultivation is moving to hills, mountains, deserts and arid regions. As far as I know, some capitals of the cherry industry are already moving to the west, such as Xinjiang'.

Zhang Caixi estimated that there will be more cherry cultivation areas in China in the future, as well as new cherry varieties and new cultivation technologies.

Regarding the current model of greenhouse cherry cultivation in China, Zhang Caixi expressed concern. "While it allows cherries to reach the market earlier, it also coincides with the supply period of cherries from Chile, which creates competition. With the extension of the supply period of cherries from Chile after the Chinese New Year, competition in the market will be even more intense.

Therefore, more attention needs to be paid in China to reducing costs and increasing the efficiency of greenhouse cultivation'.

"On the other hand, China has a vast territory and various types of climate, so it is necessary to explore the advantages of suitable cherry production areas. I suggest expanding to the southwest or northwest, which can reduce cherry production costs and increase profits. Once a large-scale industry is formed, we will be able to withstand the impact of foreign cherries,' Zhang Caixi concluded.

Source: Cerezos Chile
Images: Cerezos Chile

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