On March 26, the first 2,000-ton New Zealand kiwifruit arrived at Shanghai Port. As Zespri kiwifruit has not been hit by natural disasters in this year's new season, industry production is expected to increase by 20% compared to last year. Coupled with the optimization of links in major supply channels and the control of losses, the sales price of this year will also be reduced by 10%-18% year-on-year.
So far, three refrigerated charter ships loaded with Zespri kiwifruit have arrived in China. In the 2024 season, a total of 22 chartered ships of Zespri kiwifruit will be supplied to the Chinese market (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan), with a total of 193,000 tons, accounting for 27% of Zespri's global market supply, ranking first in the single country market.
New Zealand has a bumper harvest of kiwifruit, racing against time to China
Known as the "small gold mine of natural vitamin C", New Zealand kiwifruit is deeply loved by consumers for its juicy, good taste and high nutrition. At present, Zespri has a 30% share of the global kiwifruit market, and is favored by consumers around the world due to its stable planting technology and strict selection criteria.
On April 11, the "Faith, Inheritance, Creation - 2024 New Zealand Season Opening Conference" organized by Zespri Kiwifruit of New Zealand was grandly held.
At the meeting, Jiang Shijie, President of Zespri Group Greater China, said: "China is one of the most important strategic markets for Zespri in the world, and at present, Zespri's brand power ranks first in the category of imported fruits. Our distribution channels have covered 72 cities in China, with 55,000 distribution stores. “
Lu Tao, Vice President of Sales of Zespri Greater China, said, "The growth of kiwifruit is very good this year, and the global supply is about 190 million TEUs, which is expected to increase by 30%~40% year-on-year. Among them, about 40 million TEUs will be supplied to China, equivalent to 1.2 billion fruits. "The selling price of kiwifruit in New Zealand will also be down 10%-18% this year compared to the same period last year due to increased production, as well as the optimization of links and loss control of key supply channels.
In terms of time to market, kiwifruit counts the seconds. According to the relevant importers, the New Zealand kiwifruit ripens in March, and the local pick is the fastest speed, and it arrives in Shanghai about 20 days after picking to ensure fresh supply.
Professional buyers go to the place of origin to check the taste for consumers
Zespri New Zealand is the world's largest kiwifruit producer and distributor, and China has been the largest single market for Zespri kiwifruit in New Zealand for many years. According to reports, in 2024, Zespri's exports to the Chinese market will increase to 193,000 tons, which is expected to increase by more than 40% over 2023, accounting for 27% of Zespri's global market supply.
The strong market demand has also given rise to chaos such as "confusing the real with the fake" and "the wrong version of the goods". In order to ensure that consumers can buy authentic Zespri kiwifruit, major distributors in China have sent a team of professional buyers to the origin of Zespri kiwifruit to conduct preliminary screening of the fruits, and the fruits can only be loaded and shipped out of the port if they meet the standards.
Jingdong Supermarket is one of them, according to its professional buyer to upstream news, "the most important indicators of fruit are sugar content and health (pesticide residue detection), followed by appearance and transportation and storage." He said that in the past, the sugar content was tasted by one's own mouth, but now in addition to the picky taste of professionals, it is also assisted by professional equipment such as a sugar meter, which ultimately "ensures that our judgment will not be wrong".
Secondly, Zespri kiwifruit is sorted by professional equipment in the New Zealand origin area, each box is a standard weight, and the weight difference of each fruit in each box is also very small, and buyers should pay attention to the hardness of the fruit, epidermal trauma, and whether there is lignification after cutting.
Upgrade the quality control packaging so that the kiwifruit in the box can "breathe"
Nathan Flordi, Chairman of Zespri International Group of New Zealand, said: "We are encouraged by the tremendous efforts of our strategic partners in China, who have made significant investments in port construction, logistics and warehousing, testing, technology and standard services. “
When a Zespri kiwifruit goes from its origin to the consumer's mouth, it is strictly controlled throughout every link. This year, Zespri's strategic partners in China have further upgraded their quality control packaging to ensure that consumers can taste the kiwifruit immediately and have a good experience.
In the case of JD Supermarket, they use an internal softshell to provide support and protection for the kiwifruit, while ensuring breathability, so that the kiwifruit in the package can "breathe", maintain quality and reduce loss. Among them, for the rarest red fruit, because of its thin skin and thick flesh, the packaging is further upgraded, and the single fruit is protected by sponge support to reduce transportation loss.
At the same time, the adapted hardness standard, relying on the cold chain and logistics advantages of Jingdong Supermarket, arrives in China within 4 days after processing and packaging, and the one-stop cold chain service is to receive Zespri kiwifruit in the new season, which will be delivered within 1 day after consumers place an order at the earliest, ensuring quality while reducing distribution loss and further reducing costs.
Jingdong grabbed the first fresh, and the lowest price on the whole network also sent imported fruits
For consumers who like Zespri kiwifruit, there is another good news this year, on the basis of the first sale, Jingdong supermarket through tens of billions of subsidies, PLUS membership rights, Zespri Jingdong self-operated flagship store membership rights and interests, etc., during the first shipment of Zespri kiwifruit to the port sales, the price of the whole box decreased by 10-20 yuan compared with last year, and through the original box to give away high-end imported fruits such as prunes and apples worth 49.9 yuan, to create the ultimate cost performance, to achieve the lowest price on the whole network.
Jingdong supermarket consumption data shows that with the increase in market supply, the price of kiwi fruits, which used to be high and scarce, has also dropped by 90% in three years, and the kiwi golden fruit, which used to be 30 yuan, is now only 3.3 yuan, and the kiwi red fruit is only about 4 yuan each.
Consumers log in to the JD app and search for "Zespri Kiwifruit" to purchase.
Zespri Sunshine Golden Kiwifruit 25-27 Pieces Extra Large Fruit in the original box (single fruit weight 124g-146g) The price is as low as 179 yuan, Zespri Sunshine Golden Kiwifruit Preferred Fruit 33 pieces in the original box (single fruit weight 103g-114g) is only 169 yuan, the price of Zespri Ruby Kiwifruit 12 pieces is only 49.9 yuan, and the price of 4 Golden Fruits plus 2 red fruits is only 19.9 yuan. The price of the whole box decreased by 40 yuan compared with last year, creating the ultimate cost performance and achieving the lowest price on the whole network.
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Professional buyers' tips: how to avoid pitfalls when consumers buy kiwifruit
When buying New Zealand kiwifruit, if there is a chaos such as small filling the big fruit, confusing the real with the fake, and the wrong version of the goods, how should consumers avoid pitfalls?
First of all, choose a formal channel and look for the official self-operated flagship store, which is officially authorized by Zespri and provides all relevant certificates for the product, including health certificates, customs declarations, etc.
Secondly, don't covet abnormally low prices, which are mostly shoddy, or fake. He said that the purchase of Jingdong's self-operated flagship store will not encounter the above problems.
Thirdly, when consumers buy, they must look for the specifications of the original box, gram weight and head number, and do not be deceived by some third-party merchants. "Zespri's specifications are divided into 16 heads, 18 heads, 22 heads, 25-27 heads, 30 heads, 33 heads, 36 heads, 39 heads. ”
Upstream News Cheng Siyu