Cold spring weather has limited China’s apple, pear and grape production in key northern and western growing provinces, according to a new report from the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS).
As a result, apple production is set to decline slightly to 38m tonnes during the 2013/14 season.
However, increased acreage and yields in the pear and grape industries is poised to offset crop losses, with production set to rise by 3 and 5 per cent to 17.5m and 7.8m tonnes respectively.
Apple, pear and grape prices have become widely more expensive for consumers, with rising production costs, particularly labour, the main driver for the former.
Grape prices in eastern and central China have been higher that in western China due to ranging land and labour costs.
Pear costs have increased, in some areas due to an 18 per cent rise in farm gate prices in Hebei, and also because of the increasing popularity of new varieties that can be priced higher.
As a whole, the industry has benefitted from better storage facilities that have extended the supply season and led to better opportunities for year-round consumption.
As apple storage capacity has reached 11m tonnes, it has become the second most popular fruit consumed in China.
Importers to China will see mixed fortunes, with apple imports anticipated to drop by 7 per cent to 40,000 tonnes, while grape and pear imports are expected to rise by 26 and 18 per cent respectively.
China’s exports in apple, pears and grapes are all down, expected to drop by 12, 10 and 18 per cent respectively.
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