Fruit exports soar in NW China province

Northwest China's Shaanxi Province exported 112,400 tonnes of fruit products worth 843 million yuan (about 120.7 million U.S. dollars) in the first half, up 86.49 percent and 66.13 percent year on year, respectively.

Data from the customs authorities in Xi'an, the provincial capital, show that Shaanxi exported 17,900 tonnes of fresh fruits with a total market value of 136 million yuan in the Jan.-June period, up 14.92 percent and 12.14 percent from a year ago.

Exports of fresh apple, pear and kiwi accounted for 98.43 percent of the total fresh fruit exports in the province. Of them fresh apple exports rose 11.86 percent to 128 million yuan, while exports of fresh pear and kiwi soared by 112 percent and 92 percent to 66 million yuan and 6.56 million yuan, respectively.

Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Indonesia were Shaanxi's top five exporting markets, taking up 92.63 percent of Shaanxi's total fresh fruit exports.

Exports of apple juice and processed fruit products also registered fast growth in H1. The province sold 695 million yuan worth of apple juice to overseas markets in the first six months, up 85.7 percent year on year. Meanwhile, over 647 tonnes of processed fruits were exported, up 52.83 percent compared with the same period last year.

Shaanxi is a major fruit planting province in China. It produces over 10 million tonnes of apple every year, accounting for one-seventh of the global share. It is also a major kiwifruit producer in the world, according to Huang Siguang, head of the provincial department of agriculture and rural affairs.