The Chinese apple market is slowly recovering from last year's disruptive season. Apples were sold at high prices in 2013. Good market conditions made wholesalers store apples in big volumes at the start of the 2014 season. As a result, 2014 prices reached the highest point since 2010. However, at the end of the season, considerable amounts of unsold apples were left in storage.
Ms Ma is the export manager of Qixia Hengyuan Commercial Trade. Qixia Hengyuan grows apples on 5,000 hectares in Shandong province with an annual production of 10,000 tons. Ma believes that the apple market is slowly returning to normal: “we see that apple prices are slowly coming down. Last season's old apples are squeezing out storage space for this season’s new apples. I believe it will take a while before the market is 'back to normal'. One of the effects is that the import of apples is on the rise. Compared to last season, import numbers have doubled. Imported apples are of better quality and prices are nearly the same as domestic apples.”
“Our export volumes and prices have not changed much compared to last season. We are pleased with these export figures, as the general export market is not doing great. I think that the export of apples from Shandong province has decreased by 25%. The two main reasons for this decrease is that current prices are higher than global average apple prices. Secondly, Russia, one of China's big export countries, has less purchasing due to domestic financial difficulties."
“Currently we only export our apple abroad. We do not sell on the local market. We are realizing that it is difficult to find a stable market in China due to stiff competition. We sell our apples to buyers in Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle-East and Southeast Asia.”
