China’s 2020 Fruit Imports Surpass $10 Billion for the First Time

According to a report from the fruit branch of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products, China’s customs statistics indicate that the value of fruit imports exceeded $10 billion for the first time in 2020, reaching a total value of $10.26 billion — an 8% increase over the previous year. In contrast, the total fruit import volume declined by 8%, reaching 6.302 million tons. The decrease in import volume was largely attributable to the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on global supply chains. The top nine fruits in order of import value were fresh durians, cherries, bananas, mangosteens, fresh grapes, dragon fruit, longans, kiwifruit and oranges (fresh and dried). Durians took the top spot with a value of $2.3 billion, a year-on year increase of 44%, while the volume of durian imports reached 575,000 tons, an increase of 5%. Cherries came in second with a value of $1.63 billion — a 16% increase — and an import volume ...