With the cherry harvests of the 2023-24 season over, interest is focused on their marketing and distribution, which is why representatives of this industry, mainly salespeople and technicians in charge of quality, are visiting their main destination market: China.
This stage is relevant to have a real view of the arrivals of the fruit where you can see the quantity and speed of opening of containers, the sale of the fruit and also have access to comments on the quality and condition of the product in its different formats and labels.
Considering the importance of having a real vision of how cherries arrive in China, Trío Kimün traveled to that market and shares their main observations:
- Huizhan Market in Shanghai (Figure 1)
During our stay at this market, in week 3, we were able to observe that the speed of opening containers is somewhat slower than what we had seen in the Guangzhou market in previous seasons. This was also reflected in sales since only 50% of the container content was sold on the same day of opening, with the remainder for sale days later and stored in the same container that is connected to the electrical system (Figure 2).
Although there were few Santinas on that date, comments in the market indicated that problems with cracks and rot had been observed in previous arrivals. Meanwhile, during our visit, dark fruit was observed with a greater development of problems such as pitting and opaque fruit.
In week 3, the arrival of Lapins, Bing and the beginning of Regina were also observed. In general, the fruit was observed to be firm, this attribute being the purchasing decision factor, followed by the development of rot or aesthetic damage and finally by pitting.
When visiting supermarkets and local fruit shops, we were able to observe three types of consumers: those who buy the entire box (in 2.5kg format; Figure 3), those who buy clamshells of 450 grams or less (Figure 4) and those who buy fruit in bulk, choosing fruit by fruit (Figure 5).
- Haiguangxing Market in Jiaxing (Figure 6)
This market is located 110 km southwest of Shanghai, and it is possible to see the sale of full containers as well as the sale of boxes of cherries (Figure 7). This is a market with covered sheds and is more orderly and corresponds to the second link in the chain after Shanghai.
- Jiangnan Market in Guangzhou
At the end of week 3 we travelled 1,400 km south of Shanghai, the main market by volume for fruit and vegetables. Here we had the opportunity to observe the opening of containers from different ships: final containers from the Valiant and arrivals from the Manzanillo Express, Maersk Essen and Sally Maersk.
The main varieties that arrived to the market in these warehouses were Lapins, Bing and Regina; however we also had the opportunity to observe some later Santina, Kordia and Sweetheart.
On this occasion, two sales were being made per day (6:30 and 10 am), with rapid sales of the different labels on offer, with the fruit being sold even before the container was opened. A clear preference was observed for large-calibre fruit, with the fastest sales being from calibre 2J upwards.
Given the above, the fruit was checked very lightly, with a visual analysis by buyers first, where the most important thing, as is known, is to verify the firmness of the fruit; followed by a more detailed observation to detect possible presence of rot or other aesthetic damage. In some cases, to finalize the purchase, buyers could be seen checking the taste of the fruit and possible damage to the pulp, especially in the case of Regina. This same behavior was also repeated in Lapins.
Regarding the different packaging formats observed, arrivals were mainly marked by small formats, 2 and 2.5 kilo packages in individual boxes or master boxes, these occupy approximately 2/3 of what is seen in the market. These formats are mainly used for large sizes (from 2J to 5J); the remaining third is occupied by the 5 kilo format, where small or large sizes are concentrated when some important quality attribute is weaker.
As for complementary cold storage technologies, the use of modified atmosphere bags (MAP) continues to predominate, but the use of flowpacks (plastic or cardboard baskets wrapped in a plastic film sealed with MAP technology) is also observed.
Regarding quality and condition, rot was an isolated event. The biggest complaint from the market was the inconsistency of color (Figure 8) both at the level of color mixing in the same box and in particular at the pallet level where this is more evident in the “Dark” shades.
After receiving Lapins for several days, we saw complaints about water cracking in the fruit. During the inspections carried out, it was found that these did not exceed 5%, but their mere presence implies negotiating the sale price and their rapid exit.
In this market, you can also see retail sales, where half pallets or even boxes are sold to later be sold in other small businesses, but the end consumer also comes to buy, taking one or more boxes at a time.
Other ways to reach the final consumer are sales in supermarkets, fruit shops and neighbourhood fairs, through 2 and 2.5 kilo formats or smaller ones such as clamshells of different sizes that are offered with very orderly fruit and arranged in display cases by size; it is difficult to find fruit for sale in bulk format, except at neighbourhood fairs or in “street” stalls. In addition, there is E-commerce sales where the whole box is sent or repackaged into smaller boxes, all by online order.
As a summary of the visit to the main wholesale cherry sales markets in China, we saw a market that has the capacity to organize and sell large volumes, increasing different marketing channels each year.
The sale to the final consumer is carried out by different means, with the packaging of 2 and 2.5 kilo boxes arriving at supermarket and fruit shop displays, but the fruit is also repackaged into smaller boxes, clamshells or jars after prior selection.
As for quality and condition, despite the fact that the fruit faced inclement weather of different types, it was only mentioned that the early Santinas presented greater damage problems, the rest of the varieties arrived without major defects.
We must reach the Chinese market with products that are consistent in color, firmness and flavor. In addition, this consumer prefers larger-caliber fruit (over 28 mm) and will choose fruit with the least aesthetic damage. These are the challenges we face to continue obtaining the good commercial results that this species has achieved so far.
