According to EastFruit analysts, China has been the largest global exporter of fresh apples for two years in a row, supplying more than 1 million tonnes to foreign markets. Apple exports from China in 2021 increased by 2% and reached 1.08 million tonnes.

However, China’s apple export volumes are far from the record levels of 2016-2017. At that time, China steadily exported more than 1.3 million tonnes of apples annually, and a record volume of 1.35 million tonnes was exported from China in 2016. This was followed by a decline in exports due to growing competition in global markets and growing domestic demand for apples in China itself.

In 2021 Vietnam became the largest apple importer from China for the first time. China exported more than 180 000 tonnes of fresh apples to Vietnam, 13% more than in 2020. Last year, EastFruit analysts already drew attention to the fact that Vietnam literally burst into the ranks of global leaders in the import of fresh apples. Vietnam should become one of the priorities for Ukraine in the apple export segment, but first it is necessary for the government to agree on access to this market.

You can see how China rose to the top of the global ranking of apple exporters, and who overtook it in our video “Race for the global leadership in exports. Rating of the largest apple exporting countries in the world.”

The second priority market for Chinese apples was Bangladesh, where only a little less apples were exported than to Vietnam. The two countries accounted for one third of all apple exports from China.

China exported more than 100 000 tonnes of apples to three more countries: the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand. Exports of Chinese apples to Indonesia grew the most – by 19%. It is also necessary to note other sales markets that were the fastest growing apple imports from China: Nepal increased imports over the year by an impressive 80% and brought it to almost 79 000 tonnes, Malaysia – by 12% and Mongolia – by 28%.

Among the countries that bought relatively small volumes, apple exports from China to Guinea and the Maldives increased very sharply. Noteworthy, China even exported 74 tonnes of apples to Italy, which is one of China’s main competitors in the global apple market!

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EastFruit analysts point out the rapid growth in the popularity of durian among Russian consumers. Imports of fresh durian to Russia grew 2.5 times in the first 10 months of 2021. Wealthy consumers in Russia are ready to pay a lot of money for this exotic fruits, so premium supermarket chains consider it an increasingly important position.

Where does durian grow, how popular is it, and which countries supply durian to the Russian market?

First of all, we note that the global volume of international trade in fresh durian in 2020 approached $3 billion. This is quite a lot, because durian is a rather expensive fruit. For comparison, the global trade in apples fluctuates between $7-8 billion per year.

75% of the global trade in durian is controlled by one country – Thailand. Apparently, it is in Thailand where the majority of Russian consumers with middle and high incomes tried it. Indeed, before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Thailand was a favorite vacation spot for many Russians.

However, Russia imports durian mainly from Vietnam – the second largest exporter of durian. In general, only three countries of the world export large volumes of durian: Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. The rest of the countries mainly re-export it.

A limited number of fresh durian exporters is caused by the difficulty in transporting it. Almost none of the world’s leading transport companies agree to transport these strange, but so demanded fruits. You can understand the reasons for such decision by learning more about durian.

What is durian and why do consumers like it?

In Asian countries, where durian grows, this fruit is described briefly: “Hell outside, Heaven inside.” The durian fruit weighs from 1 to 3 kg and looks very aggressive as it is surrounded by sharp thorns. However, this is not the worst thing – what actually scares people away from durian is the disgusting smell. What is the smell of durian like? If you can imagine how a clogged sewer system, rotten fish and onions smell at the same time in the heat, then this will be as close to the truth as possible.

If you overcome these two barriers: thorns and a bad smell, and try the pulp of durian, you will see that its taste is as wonderful as its smell and appearance are terrible. It is not easy to describe the taste of durian, and everyone feels it differently. Consumers often say that the taste of durian resembles eating many fruits at once, such as papaya, pineapple, strawberry, mango, persimmon, vanilla, seasoned with cream!

Therefore, even in Russia there are those who believe that durian is the most delicious fruit in the world. But who is really crazy about durian is the Chinese – they spend more than $2 billion a year on imports of durian! Just as Thailand controls 75% of global exports, China controls 75% of global imports of durian.

Russia is still far from China, but it may become one of the 30 largest importers of durian in the world in 2021 for the first time. However, this indicates a great potential for durian supplies to the Russian market in the longer term, provided that there will be no further significant decrease in the income level of the population.

Besides the high prices, disgusting smell, unfriendly appearance and great taste, durian is also considered to be one of the most healthy fruits. Many people consider durian a superfood due to its high content of vitamins and minerals. Durian fruits contain a lot of magnesium, zinc, calcium, fiber, vitamins of groups A, B, C. What is very important for women, it contains a lot of folic acid. Durian has also been shown to have strong bactericidal properties.

What makes durian especially popular among tourists in Thailand is that the locals consider it to be a strong aphrodisiac. In addition, durian is believed to increase the chances of pregnancy in a couple who consume durian due to its indole and estrogen content. However, there is no scientific evidence for this property of durian, and this can only be a marketing trick, but it works great.

In countries where durian grows, it is forbidden to bring it to hotels and to transport it on airplanes, even in super-tight and sealed packaging. Also, it should not be consumed by nursing women, pregnant women and people with high blood pressure.

Note also that, despite its formidable shell, durian fruits are quite tender and are easily damaged during long-term transportation. And this also limits their exports. Durian is usually delivered to consumers by air.

How is durian grown?

Durian grows on very tall trees. The height of the durian tree can reach 40-50 meters. Therefore, harvesting durian is a difficult and dangerous job.

Industrial varieties of durian trees give their first harvest in the fourth or fifth year after planting, although most durian trees in nature begin to bear fruit only 15 years after germination from seeds. Despite there being many varieties of durian in the wild, only a few of them are considered edible and are cultivated by farmers in tropical countries.

At the same time, most varieties of durian can bear fruit twice a year. Interestingly, the flowers on durian trees open in the evening. Moreover, their smell is not as unpleasant as the smell of ripe fruits. However, durian is not pollinated by insects, but by animals – the smell of durian flowers attracts bats – the main pollinator of these unusual fruits.

Durian can only be successfully grown in tropical climates. Considering the difficulties of transportation, it is best to consume durian in the places where it grows in order to truly appreciate its unique taste, and, of course, its terrible smell.

By the way, the annual world durian festival is held at the beginning of May in Thailand, in the province of Chanthaburi. Can you imagine the smell there?

Сообщение Exotic durian with a disgusting smell is becoming more and more popular in Russia появились сначала на EastFruit.

As EastFruit analysts report, Vietnam became one of the world leaders in apple imports in 2020, having doubled the volume of imports. In total, over five years, the volume of apple imports to Vietnam has grown more than seven times!

Vietnam now ranks fifth in the world in terms of apple imports, surpassing Bangladesh, India and almost overtaking Egypt. Thus, only Russia, Germany and Great Britain are ahead of Vietnam in terms of apple imports. However, given the high level of apple prices in Vietnam, this country turned out to be the third largest apple market in the world in terms of revenues, ahead of Egypt and the UK, and second only to Germany and Russia.

Apple exporters managed to earn almost half a billion US dollars by supplying apples to Vietnam in 2020. At the same time, the volume of Vietnamese apple imports amounted to about 265 thousand tons. Therefore, the average price at which Vietnamese fruit importers bought apples was $ 1.77. This is a very attractive price for any supplier, at which the highest quality apples can be sold.

“Apples are trendy exotic fruit in Vietnam, where apple trees do not grow due to climate. However, rapid economic growth and a positive demography allow Vietnamese residents to buy expensive imported exotic fruit. This means that the quality must be high. Naturally, this forces the world’s key fruit exporters to look for ways to enter this rather heavily protected sales market and invest in promoting their products in Vietnam,” Andriy Yarmak, Economist at the Investments Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) explains.

In this regard, the signing of a free trade agreement with Vietnam turned out to be very successful for EU farmers. This allowed the stagnant apple industry to enter a huge new sales market with high prices.

“Unfortunately, after the signing of a free trade agreement between the EU and Vietnam, Ukraine was out of the picture, as in the case of apple exports to Egypt. For instance, Poland increased the supply of apples to Vietnam fivefold in 2020 – up to 2.5 thousand tons. Even France, which has been losing its position in the global apple market for many years, managed to triple the export of fresh apples to Vietnam to 11.4 thousand tons. Ukraine still cannot export apples to Vietnam, as well as to a number of very promising markets for apple sales,” Andriy Yarmak says.

The main exporters of apples to Vietnam remain the United States and New Zealand, offering premium quality fruit and investing in their promoting and marketing in this market of more than 96 million people. The two countries together doubled the volume of apple exports in 2020: the United States – up to 54 thousand tons, and New Zealand – up to 42 thousand tons.

Сообщение Apple business – Vietnam becomes one of the world leaders in apple imports появились сначала на EastFruit.