Agriculture & Food

Julio Ruiz Tagle, Regional Director for Asia and the Americas of "D-Quality Survey", a global fresh fruit and vegetable quality management company, shared the production situation and market reaction of Chilean cherries this season in an interview recently. , and mentioned his views on the Chinese market.

A large number of cherries arrived in China, and the market responded well to the Spring Festival

Julio said that in recent weeks, a large number of Chilean cherries have arrived in the Chinese market one after another, and relevant producers and traders are also working hard to bring the best quality fruit to the Chinese market. For now, cherries are doing well in the Chinese market with stable prices. However, traders also face a major problem with slow customs clearance of cherries, which has resulted in thousands of containers waiting to arrive at ports.

Julio commented: “So far, we are running well and the prices are fair. Sea containers are coming into China in large numbers. Our team in China is also very busy and they have checked different exporters in the past 2 weeks alone. And about 300 containers of different varieties of fruit. This season, Chile will set another record for the export of cherries. "This season, we have delivered 4,000 containers of cherries. "

“At this stage, the market has been operating normally. In particular, the air-delivered cherries and the first batch of sea cherries at the beginning of the season have performed very well, with strong sales and stable prices at 300 to 350 yuan per box (47.28 to 55.17 yuan). U.S. dollars) or so. Of course, when large shipments entered China at the end of December, their market prices also started to decline, but they were still in the normal range. Currently, the price of the premium Bing/Lapins variety is about 250 yuan ($39.40) per box.” .

Julio also expressed his expectations for the market development in the next few weeks, "More cherries will arrive in the Chinese market in the next two weeks. With the arrival of the Chinese New Year, the Chinese market demand has also seen a great increase, On top of that, more Kordia and Regina varieties will come. These varieties have dark color, beautiful shape and great taste, which is why they are so popular among Chinese consumers.” Julio commented, "The weather in Chilean cherries is very good, coupled with the continuous promotion of marketing projects by the Chilean government, as well as the high enthusiasm of Chinese importers and buyers, I believe that, if nothing else, this will be the best choice for Chilean cherries. A very good season."

Managed and controlled the quality of cherries, established a special working group to conduct in-depth wholesale market research

According to statistics, in the past two weeks, about 12% of the cherries exported to China had quality problems. Among them, 10% had no stems, 5% were soft, 1% showed signs of rot, and 16% had pits.

Last season, many Chilean exporters encountered packaging shortages. “Packaging shortages are no longer a big issue this season. Some exporters started buying materials as early as June or July 2021, and they are now using them for packaging,” explains Julio. It's a chronic problem, so people are getting used to it and getting used to it and are better prepared."

Currently, the biggest problem facing exporters and importers is the slow customs clearance of containers upon arrival at ports, including some of China's major ports for importing fresh fruit. "Some of our customers have containers that are in port for 3 to 10 days after they arrive. I don't think this will change in the short term, and for me, the situation has to be fully considered and appropriate technology added so that the fruit can be preserved. More days. It was a valuable solution to overcome this problem," Julio said.

As a quality management company, D-Quality Survey pays great attention to the quality control of fruits, especially the defects that affect the quality and condition of the arrival. "Some of the other factors we evaluate are shelf life, gas balance in the bag, temperature chain, ventilation and container configuration. This is not only very useful for any claims that may arise, but also for maintaining the buyer-seller relationship. We are a qualified company And a reliable company that can give customers more trust. In my opinion, more importantly, the high quality data we provide is very useful for customers, who can use these to compare products from different growers, including The variety, date and other data of the product, which can help them make better strategic decisions and continue to improve in the new season. Especially in China, we also provide commercial support to all customers through sales tracking agreements.”

In addition to quality management, D-Quality Survey also provides customers with professional assessment reports. “We have a working group of Chileans and Chinese who carry out this work in the two main import wholesale markets in Shanghai and Guangzhou. We provide up-to-date quality statistics and track how many containers are opened in the market each day or sold. Also, every day we record videos in the market to find out the market issues our customers are facing. Customers can access these reports through their APP or our website.” Julio said, “These commercial reports are given to our customers. A wealth of up-to-date information is provided, along with all the required quality and commercial context for each arrival, which they can use to make sales decisions."

“We have a team of 10 people in China. They are in the wholesale market every day, so we can chat with customers anytime and answer their questions related to the market. In this way, we hope to help customers solve problems and increase mutual trust," Julio added.