The first batch of South African peaches has flown directly to Shanghai, adding a new powerhouse player to the lineup of Lunar New Year fruits!

On February 9, the first batch of South African nectarines was air-freighted to Shanghai and an opening event was held at the Shanghai Huizhan Fruit and Vegetable Market, marking the first entry of South African stone fruits into the Chinese market. International Fruit and Vegetable News promptly contacted the importer, Shanghai Jingwei Fresh Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. (Topsun). General Manager Neil Wan introduced that the first batch of arrivals included one pallet of yellow-flesh nectarines and one pallet of white-flesh nectarines, both carefully selected from high-quality varieties from the late South African growing season. The price for yellow-flesh nectarines is above 200 yuan per box (3kg/box), and the price for white-flesh nectarines is above 150 yuan per box. The first batch of nectarines was mainly marketed online through fruit-related live streamers, focusing on the Shanghai and East China markets, which have a higher acceptance of imported fruits, facilitating immediate consumer feedback. South Africa is a key fruit origin for Jingwei Fresh, with the company maintaining good cooperative relationships with local growers and exporters, and consistently importing fruits such as apples, pears, citrus fruits, and grapes from South Africa. Although the current export season for South African stone fruits is nearing its end, Jingwei Fresh will continue to try importing other high-quality varieties to prepare for the next full growing season. Neil Wan added that the choice of nectarines as the first product for South African stone fruits was based on confidence in South African nectarines. South African nectarines are sweet and crisp, with excellent customer feedback. During the winter and spring seasons, nectarines on the domestic market mainly come from Chile, with a small portion from Australia. The addition of South African products will provide more choices for the market. The company has made full preparations for importing South African stone fruits, selecting high-quality fruits with sugar spots for the first batch, hoping to use quality to open a good start for South African stone fruits in the Chinese market. It is understood that the exporter of this batch of nectarines is South Africa's Delecta Company, founded in 1997, which was formed by a consortium of local growers and exports about 10 million boxes of fruit annually. Through years of exporting apples, pears, and grapes to China, Delecta has established a good brand reputation domestically. At the same time, Delecta has experience exporting stone fruits to Europe and the Middle East and sees great potential in the Chinese market. The planting area for South African stone fruits is approximately 16,000 hectares. Over the past five years, the planting area for nectarines has increased by 26%, with yellow-flesh nectarines increasing by 24%. The export season for South African stone fruits lasts from October to March and April of the following year, coinciding with the winter and spring seasons in China, meeting the demand of the Chinese market out of season. Thanks to strong weather conditions during winter and flowering, the fruit set rate and fruit quality of most producing areas this season are excellent. Source: Shanghai Jingwei Fresh Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. (Topsun) 2026 International Fruit and Vegetable News. All rights reserved. For reprint permission, please contact International Fruit and Vegetable News and credit the source.