"Venus gold", has been a dark horse on the Chinese apple market this year. It is a new variety introduced from Japan to China jointly by the Rongcheng Agricultural Bureau and Weihai Tea Station. The fruit matures from late October to early November, which is almost the same as Fuji. This will be the first year it has been listed in the domestic market, and it sells for up to 15 yuan per kilogram, far higher than the Fuji varieties. Once listed, it will be sold out in a very short time by different growing companies across the country and is expected to achieve more than 2 million yuan in sales," said president Zhang, from the Tian Youtian Ecological Agriculture Co. Ltd.
"The reasons for its popularity are due to a unique variety of characteristics. Firstly, the fruit is oblong and the skin color is yellow. On the market, it is often sold with different colors of Fuji apples in a gift box, to create an attractive display for consumers. Secondly, it has a longer storage time. Thirdly, the taste is more crisp and sweet compared to the Fujis. It fruits twice a year, in spring and autumn and, this year, we will plant 100,000 seedlings and plan to enlarge the cultivation area to 300-400 Mu next year. "
"Our company is located in Rongcheng city of Shandong province. We have achieved organic certification and green certification covering an area of 512 acres of Apple planting base. We mainly plant red Fuji and Venus gold seedling which are sold to dealers across the country through an external logistics company, under its own brand "Shandong Tian Youtian" by WeChat, Taobao and other ecommerce platforms. We use a combination of manure and organic fertilizers."
"The listing period of red Fuji is from October to June. Our orchard was built in the winter of 2013 and, so far, the annual output of red Fuji is not very large, but we'll be entering the harvest period in April and May this year. From a national perspective, in the past few years, the performance of the apple market has been relatively poor - mainly due to over-expansion and poor quality control. Although the production in 2016 was relatively stable, due to the dry climate, the quality is slightly worse, and the average price fell by about 5%-10%. Nevertheless, I am still optimistic about the market this year. With the gradual elimination of old varieties, and continuous innovation of the planting technology, as well as the growth of processing enterprises, I believe that after a few years of downward development, the domestic apple market will rebound this year."
"As a major agricultural area, the Rongcheng government has given support to the farmers in all aspects; not only to organize Apple fairs and exibitions to promote the brand, but also to set up the apple industry association, which provides technical training to the farmers and helps them visit and study regularly in Shanghai, Yunnan and other cities. At this stage, we are sincerely looking for large, long-term partners, such as food processing enterprises, etc. In addition, we sincerely welcome domestic and foreign experts to visit our company for communication and investigation, and to jointly introduce new varieties into Rongcheng and China."
