Production Continues to Post Solid Gains on the Chinese Strawberry Market

IndexBox has just published a new report "China: Strawberries - Market Report. Analysis And Forecast To 2025". Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

Strawberries Consumption in China Recorded a Steady Upward Trend

China’s strawberry market attained a figure of 3.8M tonnes, 314K tonnes (or +9%) more than in 2015. Nevertheless, in value terms, in 2016, the Chinese market showed growth due to a record price jump, which resulted in market growth to $5.6B in 2016. This figure reflects total revenue of producers and importers (excluding logistics costs, retail marketing costs, and retailers’ margins, which will be included in the final consumer price).

In addition, over the period under review, the share of imports in both physical and value terms remained constant and negligible, therefore, domestic strawberries production almost fully satisfies domestic consumption.

The healthy food trend is becoming increasingly popular on China’s market, thereby encouraging the consumption of natural products, including fruit and berries. This trend is expected to continue in the coming years. Consumers are increasingly choosing products with fresh strawberries, which are also used as natural ingredients for bakery and confectionery, for jams and other products.

Population growth and a general demand for fresh food, along with the implementation of agricultural programs in the framework of China's five-year economic and social development plan will be the main drivers for the growth of the strawberries market in China. This growth needs to be considered against the backdrop of increased production (including modernisation of strawberries cultivation), larger cultivation areas, intensified research on new frost-resistant varieties.

Given all the above mentioned factors, market performance is forecast to grow with an anticipated CAGR of +3.5%. The market volume is projected to reach 5.18M tonnes by 2025. 

Chinese Strawberry Production Continued to Post Solid Gains

Chinese strawberries production amounted to 3.8M tonnes in 2016. Output of strawberries in China indicated a robust growth from 2007 to 2016, with a CAGR of +8.1%.

In 2016, Chinese strawberries harvested areas stood at 141K ha, experiencing a steady expansion over the period under review.

The yield stood at 26.9 tonne/ha in 2016. The production of strawberries is affected by many external factors, ranging from climatic conditions and ecology to the use of pesticides. From 2007 to 2012, the yield has slightly increased due to intensified application of modern agro-technologies, however, within the past few years it has stabilised. Weather is one of the major risks and a potential constraint to Chinese strawberries production. The changing climatic conditions represent a significant concern for farmers. 

Russia Became the Main Consumer of China’s Strawberries Exports

China exported 1,477 tonnes of strawberries in 2016, which accounted for around 0.04% of Chinese strawberries production.

In 2016, the main destinations for China strawberries exports was Russia (68% based on tonnes). It was followed by Hong Kong (11%), Belgium (10%) and France (6%). From 2007 to 2016, exports to Russia had the highest growth rates, with a CAGR of +23.3%.

Strawberry Imports to China Remains Negligible

Strawberries imports into China remained relatively insignificant: China boasts a stable volume of strawberries production that is sufficient to satisfy domestic consumption. Chinese strawberries imports totalled 442 tonnes and amounted to $1,556K in 2016, fluctuating wildly from 2007 to 2016.

In 2016, the Netherlands (59% based on tonnes), Egypt (25%) and Hong Kong (15%) were the main suppliers of strawberries into China. Imports from other countries were negligible and irregular.

Do you want to know more about the strawberry market in China? Get the latest trends and insight from our report. It includes a wide range of statistics on

• strawberry market share
• strawberry prices
• strawberry industry
• strawberry sales
• strawberry import
• strawberry export
• strawberry market forecast
• strawberry price forecast

Source: China: Strawberries - Market Report. Analysis And Forecast To 2025